Hierarchy and hope: Exploring AI's role in medicine through a thematic analysis of online discourse.

ABSTRACT: The healthcare community remains divided on the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine. In this qualitative study, we sought to better understand the perceived opportunities and threats of AI among premedical students, medical students, and physicians. We conducted a thematic analysis on Reddit, a social platform where candid opinions are often shared. Posts from the r/premed, r/medicalschool, and r/medicine subreddits were searched using the terms "AI", "chatGPT", "openAI", and "artificial intelligence". We analyzed 2403 comments across 47 threads from December 2022 to August 2023. A coding scheme was developed manually following Braun and Clarke's (2006) framework, and common themes were extracted. The main themes identified centered on AI enhancement versus replacement. Ca

SUBMITTER: Pushani J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12858004 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature