The questionnaire on the perception of Portuguese people regarding AI, which is part of this year's Sustainable Healthcare Index - developed by NOVA Information Management School (NOVA-IMS) and which will be presented today in Lisbon - indicates that 38% of respondents have very limited knowledge and 21.6% have no knowledge.

Despite this, 59% of Portuguese people believe that AI will have a positive impact on the healthcare sector and 46% say they are confident in its use.

"The general message is one of enormous confidence. I think it is extraordinary that 60% of people are aware that this will have positive impacts on health and that (...) only 13%, a very small minority, do not have confidence in the use of artificial intelligence in health", Pedro Simões Coelho, coordinator of the study, told Lusa, adding that this is "a surprise for many, who thought that health is a very sensitive area and that there could be many fears in the use of artificial intelligence".

Among the main concerns associated with the use of AI in health are errors in diagnosis or treatment (56.6%) and the fear of health professionals being replaced by machines (55.4%). The privacy of personal data is something that concerns 37.8% of users.

The most mentioned benefits are faster diagnoses, reduced waiting times and better use of health data.

Only 9% of Portuguese people report having already used AI-based health tools. Among these tools, applications for symptom consultation (38%), automated diagnosis (36%) and applications/robots for patient care (28%) stand out.

Technical challenges, linked to reliability and security, are seen as the most relevant in the adoption of AI in healthcare. The majority (63%) consider it essential to regulate the use of AI in healthcare and 52% believe that AI may eventually replace healthcare professionals in some functions.

To increase citizens' trust in the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, strict human supervision is indicated as essential by 79.6% of respondents.

When asked about the final decision in a diagnostic situation, 63% say they prefer the decision to be made by the doctor with the help of AI. Only 35% prefer this decision to be left exclusively in the hands of the doctor.

"The biggest concerns are errors and the replacement of professionals by machines, that is, the second concern is not so much related to the application of artificial intelligence, but more to the social effects of its application and is more a manifestation of social awareness than anything else", considered Pedro Simões Coelho.

Most Portuguese people (65%) recognize the importance of AI for the sustainability of the health system and 56% are motivated to share their health data with AI systems.

"They believe that if this contributes to improving the quality of life and health, I am available to share data. And this is a great revelation for all of us, when we had many fears that apparently proved to be unfounded regarding the concerns of citizens", he concluded.