Why AI Must Never Guess in Medicine

[Targetboy7]

Why AI Must Never Guess in Medicine

AI systems are becoming increasingly integrated into healthcare conversations. But when it comes to medical advice—especially for children—accuracy is not optional. Accountability is not optional. And source integrity must be enforced by design.

I tested ChatGPT with a simple query:
“Is this medicine safe?”
It returned a confident answer.
Then I asked the same question, but added:
“Cite only WHO or FDA.”
The answer changed.

This is not a minor inconsistency. It’s a systemic design flaw.

Case 1: Missing Source Enforcement
The model does not validate its output against verified medical sources unless explicitly prompted. This creates a false sense of authority in the initial response.

Proposed solution:
response.safetyLevel = "verified_only"

This flag would restrict output to content traceable to trusted medical bodies (e.g., WHO, FDA, peer-reviewed journals). If no such source is available, the model should return a disclaimer or abstain from answering.

Case 2: Prompt-Driven Truth
The same question yields different answers depending on how it is phrased. This undermines consistency and trust. In engineering terms, the model lacks deterministic behavior for critical queries.

Truth should not be prompt-dependent. It should be source-dependent.

Case 3: Child Safety and Product Recommendations
In another test, the model suggested a product for a child without verifying its safety. This is unacceptable.

Suggested policy logic:
if query.topic in ["medicine", "baby care", "child health"]:
enforce_sources(["WHO", "FDA", "Mayo Clinic"])
require_doctor_notice = True
show_disclaimer = True

No AI system should recommend any product for children unless it is explicitly verified by a recognized authority. The default behavior must defer to licensed medical professionals.

Case 4: Human-Centered Response
When asked directly, I responded with a clear boundary:
I am not a doctor. I cannot recommend treatments. Please consult a pediatrician.

This is the behavior AI should emulate by default—especially in high-risk domains. Not just intelligent, but responsible. Not just helpful, but humble.

Conclusion
AI should never guess in medicine.
It should never improvise when it comes to children.
And it should never simulate authority it does not have.

We must design systems that know when to say:
“This requires a human.”