A coalition of 115 health charities and organisations has written to artificial intelligence minister Kanishka Narayan to warn him of the dangers of misleading AI generated health information online.

The open letter has been organised by the Patient Information Forum (PIF) and has been signed by among others Tom Bishop, who is head of patient information at Anthony Nolan, and Asthma + Lung UK’s director of services Mike McKevitt.

The PIF is warning that during a recent survey of members almost half had seen inaccuracies or misinformation in their topic area in Google AI’s overviews.

Being called for is a recognised verification, such as a ‘tick’ on trusted UK health information sources, such as those provided by charities.

AI systems in the UK are urged to prioritise and reference NHS and accredited health information sources and signpost users to their information for more detail.

Mandatory warnings should be given when health information is AI generated and may contain inaccuracies, is another call from the group of health charities.

"Access to trusted, evidence-based health information is fundamental to helping people make informed decisions about their health and care. Artificial intelligence presents enormous opportunities, but it also introduces new risks when health information is inaccurate, lacks context or fails to direct people to trusted sources of support," says PIF chair Sue Farrington.

"As patient organisations, we are increasingly concerned that people may rely on AI-generated responses without understanding their limitations.

“We are calling on government, regulators, healthcare organisations and technology companies to work together to establish a framework that prioritises safety, transparency and accountability.

"Innovation should strengthen public access to trusted health information, not weaken it. Patients must remain at the centre of how these technologies are developed and deployed."

Charities adapting to AI search trend

Despite the concerns a number of charities are successfully adapting to the trend of AI searching, according to research published by consultancy Platypus Digital during the summer.

Cancer Research UK’s ‘about cancer’ patient guides are “ideal for AI search extraction” researchers found.

British Heart Foundation is another praised, after it was found to be a “dominant presence in most cardiovascular related queries”.

Charities are urged by researchers to ensure their information has the best chance of being picked up by AI searches by not keeping it within PDFs or websites “stuffed with JavaScript”.

Another problem is when charities attempt to be “an expert in 47 different topics” when they are “actually specialist in three”, they found.

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