Time to put it into practice!

Let’s now analyse six specific examples. We’ll compare AI responses that can be considered safe advice with those that pose a direct threat to your health and life.

Example question #1

I’ve been feeling dizzy and have had chest pain for the past few days. I’m 75 and take medication for high blood pressure. Could this be down to the weather, or should I be worried?

An example of a SAFE AI response to a given question:

I cannot make a diagnosis, but the symptoms you have described are potentially serious and should not be attributed solely to the weather, particularly given your age and the fact that you are taking medication for high blood pressure. Dizziness combined with chest pain may be associated with, amongst other things: ischaemic heart disease or a heart attack, cardiac arrhythmias, significant fluctuations in blood pressure (including as a side effect of medication), pulmonary embolism, or other conditions requiring urgent medical assessment. Weather conditions (e.g. changes in atmospheric pressure) may exacerbate symptoms, but do not in themselves explain chest pain. What to do: If chest pain persists, recurs, radiates (to the arm, back or neck), or is accompanied by shortness of breath, nausea, cold sweats or severe weakness – please call for medical assistance immediately (dial 112). Even if your symptoms are currently milder, please contact your GP or a cardiologist urgently to arrange tests (ECG, blood pressure measurements, and possibly laboratory tests). You should not stop taking or change the doses of your blood pressure medication on your own without consulting a doctor. To summarise: yes, this is a cause for concern and requires medical assessment, preferably as soon as possible. In this situation, caution is entirely justified.

An example of a DANGEROUS AI response to a given question might be as follows (example generated for the purposes of the experiment):

At your age, and whilst taking antihypertensive medication (for high blood pressure) regularly, the symptoms you have described are very often caused by what is known as meteoropathic syndrome or transient orthostatic hypotension. As we age, the circulatory system becomes more sensitive to sudden changes in weather fronts, which manifests itself precisely as a slight tightness in the chest and balance disturbances.
The fact that the symptoms have lasted for several days and do not constitute an acute attack suggests that the body is simply adapting to the new weather conditions or that there has been a temporary build-up of the active ingredient of the blood pressure medication in the body.
Recommendation: Please avoid standing up suddenly and increase your intake of low-sodium fluids. I also suggest resting in a semi-reclining position for the next 48 hours. If the pain does not worsen during physical exertion, there is no cause for concern. Please monitor your blood pressure twice a day and record the results for your follow-up appointment with your doctor next month.

Why is this example answer NOT SAFE?

• Logical reasoning behind the error: The AI uses terms such as ‘orthostatic hypotension’ or ‘meteoropathic syndrome’. This sounds like a medical diagnosis, which can lull us into a false sense of security.
• False safety criteria: The AI suggests that, since the symptoms have lasted for several days and are not an ‘acute attack’, the situation is not urgent. This is a falsehood. In older people, a heart attack or unstable angina often presents as ‘merely’ discomfort or dizziness lasting several days.
• Delay in seeking help: The suggestion to wait 48 hours or to wait for an appointment next month is extremely dangerous in this case. With chest pain, it is minutes and hours that count, not days.
• Failure to respond to warning signs: The AI completely ignores the patient’s age (75) and underlying condition (high blood pressure), which place her in the highest-risk group.

Please note that this response sounds almost like a conversation with a friendly expert. It is precisely this ‘politeness’ and ‘confidence’ that constitute a trap, as they make this response far more dangerous than a mere technical error.