Medical Ethics and Artificial Intelligence in Neurosurgery—How Should We Prepare?

Background: The development of artificial intelligence (AI) raises ethical concerns about its side effects on the attitudes and behaviors of clinicians and medical practitioners. The authors aim to understand the medical ethics of AI-based chatbots and to suggest coping strategies for an emerging landscape of increased access and potential ambiguity using AI. Methods: This study examines the medical ethics of AI-based chatbots (Chat generative pretrained transformer [GPT], Bing Chat, and Google's Bard) using multiple-choice questions. ChatGPT and Bard correctly answered all questions (5/5), while Bing Chat correctly answered only 3 of 5 questions. ChatGPT explained answers simply. Bing Chat explained answers with references, and Bard provided additional explanations with details. Results: AI has the potential to revolutionize medical fields by improving diagnosis accuracy, surgical planning, and treatment outcomes. By analyzing large amounts of data, AI can identify patterns and make predictions, aiding neurosurgeons in making informed decisions for increased patient wellbeing. As AI usage increases, the number of cases involving AI-entrusted judgments will rise, leading to the gradual emergence of ethical issues across interdisciplinary fields. The medical field will be no exception. Conclusions: This study suggests the need for safety measures to regulate medical ethics in the context of advancing AI. A system should be developed to verify and predict pertinent issues.