Impact of artificial intelligence on the choice of radiology as a specialty by medical students from the city of São Paulo

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on undergraduate medical students’ choice of radiology as a specialty. Materials and Methods: In February 2019, an anonymous online survey was sent to medical students. The research contemplated questions on how much students think they know about AI technologies, how much AI discourages them from choosing radiology as a specialty, and whether they believe there is a threat to the radiology job market. Results: A total of 101 students, most of them doing their internship, answered the questionnaire. More than half of them (52.5%) said they believe AI poses a threat to the radiology job market, but 64.3% claimed not to have proper knowledge about these new technologies, and 31.7% said they would like more information on the technologies’ operation and progress before making a decision on whether or not to practice radiology as a specialty. Conclusion: A significant proportion of the surveyed students perceive AI as a threat to the radiological practice, which impacts their career choice. However, the majority claims to have insufficient knowledge of it and believes more information is needed for decision-making.

摘要：
研究目的：评估人工智能（Artificial Intelligence, AI）对医学本科生选择放射学（Radiology）作为专业方向的影响。
材料与方法：2019年2月，研究团队向医学本科生发放了匿名在线调查问卷。问卷涵盖学生对AI技术的认知程度、AI技术是否会打消其选择放射学专业的意愿，AI是否认为放射学就业市场存在威胁等相关问题。
研究结果：共有101名学生完成问卷作答，其中大部分处于实习阶段。52.5%的受访者认为AI会对放射学就业市场构成威胁，64.3%的学生表示自身对AI技术缺乏足够了解，31.7%的学生称，在决定是否以放射学作为职业方向前，希望获取更多关于该技术运作原理与发展进展的信息。
研究结论：本次受访的学生中有相当比例认为AI会对放射学执业构成威胁，这一认知对其职业选择产生了影响。然而，多数学生坦言自身对AI技术缺乏足够了解，且认为需要获取更多相关信息以辅助职业决策。