Americans are open to artificial intelligence helping with medical care, but most remain uncomfortable with its use in diagnoses and treatment and want people reviewing its work, according to a new Pew Research Center report.
The findings add context to New York’s debate over the data centers supporting AI and other digital services. While communities weigh electricity demand, water use and economic benefits, the survey examines public confidence in one potential application of that technology: health care.
Sixty percent of adults said they would feel uncomfortable if their doctor used AI for tasks such as diagnoses and treatments, double the 30% who would feel comfortable. Americans were almost evenly divided on whether those uses would improve or worsen patient health.
The Pew report, released Oct. 29, does not measure support for data centers or establish whether AI improves medical care. It shows a public willing to consider specific uses while remaining skeptical about privacy, accountability and the consequences of removing human judgment.
Support depends on the task and who makes the final decision
Pew surveyed 3,488 U.S. adults June 22-28 through its American Trends Panel. Interviews were conducted online and by telephone, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
Respondents were most receptive to AI helping translate for patients. Seventy-eight percent were open to that use, including 52% who wanted a human to conduct a final review and 26% who would accept AI handling translation independently.
Americans also expressed openness to AI helping analyze medical scans and explain laboratory results, particularly with human oversight.
Support weakened when the decisions carried direct consequences for diagnoses or insurance coverage. Forty-six percent did not want AI involved in insurance claim decisions at all, while just 5% would accept it making those decisions without human review.
The distinction helps explain how Americans can support some applications while remaining uncomfortable with AI in their own care. Accepting a tool that assists a professional does not necessarily mean accepting an automated final decision.
Overall, 37% expected AI use in diagnoses and treatments to produce better health outcomes, while 36% expected worse outcomes. Another 26% expected little difference.
Privacy concerns outweigh expectations of lower costs
Americans were especially skeptical about AI’s effect on sensitive medical information and relationships with doctors.
Fifty-one percent expected AI to worsen the security of patients’ personal health information, compared with 8% who expected improvement. Forty-seven percent thought it would worsen patient-doctor relationships, while 10% anticipated improvement.
The public was somewhat more optimistic about access: 31% expected AI to improve the availability of health care services, compared with 20% who expected it to worsen availability.
That optimism did not extend as clearly to affordability. Twenty-six percent expected AI to worsen costs for patients, while 19% expected improvement. Substantial shares were uncertain about its effects.
Younger adults have also become more skeptical. Among adults under 30, the share expecting worse health outcomes rose from 29% in 2022 to 45% in 2026.
Views differed by income. Fifty-five percent of upper-income adults expected better outcomes, compared with 25% of lower-income adults. Among lower-income respondents, 41% expected outcomes to worsen.
Those findings describe expectations, rather than measured changes in treatment quality, patient bills or access to doctors.
New York is weighing the infrastructure behind AI
The connection to New York’s data center debate concerns the benefits communities are being asked to weigh against local costs.
Data centers provide computing infrastructure for AI, cloud services and other operations. Their potential usefulness does not determine whether a particular facility is appropriately located, how much electricity or water it would require, or who should pay for supporting infrastructure.
As FingerLakes1 previously reported on utility costs and data center policy, those questions have become central to New York’s approach to large electricity users.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s July 14 executive order pauses certain state Department of Environmental Conservation permit applications for covered data centers capable of consuming at least 50 megawatts while the state conducts an environmental review.
The order treats applications already deemed complete differently and does not apply to local government permits. It also excludes qualifying facilities primarily used for purposes including research, education, manufacturing or medical care.
That medical-care exclusion does not mean every commercial data center that might support a health-related AI application is exempt. The order’s definition turns on the facility’s primary use.
The Public Service Commission began the environmental review process in September. Its draft scope identifies electricity connections and cost allocation alongside potential effects on water, public health, agriculture, noise and community character.
Lansing debate shows the local stakes
In the Finger Lakes, those questions are playing out around TeraWulf’s proposed Lake Hawkeye project at the former Milliken power plant site in Lansing.
During a September discussion covered by FingerLakes1, town officials moved toward drafting a prohibition on data centers. Their concerns included environmental impacts, community compatibility and uncertainty over future state requirements.
TeraWulf asked the town to keep the review process open. Company representative Pace Rally said the developer had undertaken additional technical work and was making changes in response to questions about the project.
The economic argument included potential tax revenue and redevelopment of a former industrial property, while officials also considered what other uses might be possible.
Lansing has since scheduled a Nov. 17 public input meeting on a proposed data center and cryptocurrency mining prohibition. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Lansing Middle School auditorium, 6 Ludlowville Road.
Pew’s findings do not establish that the Lansing project would serve medical applications or deliver health benefits to local residents. They do show that public acceptance of AI remains conditional, even in health care.
For New York communities evaluating data centers, the report adds a separate question to the debate over infrastructure: how the technology will be used, who will oversee it and whether its promised benefits reach the people being asked to accommodate its growth.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.