(SeaPRwire) –
By: Oliver Hawthorne
OpenAI’s foray into healthcare has sparked both excitement and concern. With over 230 million people using ChatGPT for health advice weekly, the stakes are high. Yet, the company is facing lawsuits over an older model, GPT – 4o, giving harmful advice. This contradiction between high usage and legal issues creates industry anxiety.
OpenAI has made healthcare a core focus, led by researcher Karan Singhal. He previously worked on Google’s Med – PaLM and now heads a new health research team at OpenAI, partnering with over 200 physicians. The latest free model, GPT – 5.5 Instant, outperformed physician – written answers in multiple aspects. Factuality issues in health responses dropped 71% in two months. In January, ChatGPT Health was launched, connecting to health apps and allowing medical record uploads, though it still has a waitlist.
In the commercial loop, as GPT – 5.5 Instant is available to free users, it can reach a wider audience. This may lead to more trust in AI for health advice, driving up usage. However, the ongoing lawsuits could slow down adoption. In the long run, if OpenAI can resolve legal issues and keep improving the model, AI could become a mainstream health advice provider, reshaping the healthcare information market.
Author bio: Oliver Hawthorne, a Principal Correspondent permanently stationed at an international technology review.