The ethical perceptions of health sciences students regarding access to health information via artificial intelligence: a cross-sectional study

Background Artificial intelligence has sparked a profound transformation in the fields of education and healthcare. University students are among the groups most affected by this transformation. Individuals' AI literacy, medical AI readiness, and level of ethical values are important in terms of AI integration. This study examined the relationship between AI literacy, medical AI readiness, and ethical values among university students majoring in health sciences. The study also determined the rates at which students use AI to access health information. Methods This study was designed as a cross-sectional analytical study. The study included 211 undergraduate students studying health sciences (Medicine, Dentistry, Midwifery, Nursing, Health Administration, and Physical Therapy). As part of the study, students were administered a sociodemographic information form, the Turkish version of the Artificial Intelligence Literacy Scale (AILS), the Medical Artificial Intelligence Readiness Scale (MAIRS), and the Ethical Values Scale for Health Sciences Students (EVSSHS). Results Most students (77.25%) use AI to find information on health and medicine. In contrast, majority of students (71.56%) say that AI makes them less proactive in learning about health-related topics and reduces their curiosity about learning. The mean score on the artificial intelligence literacy scale for students was found to be 59.13 ± 9.03. The difference between departments in terms of AILS was found to be statistically significant ( p = 0.034). The relationship between the Medical Artificial Intelligence Readiness Scale and the Scale of Ethical Values Among Health Sciences Students was found to be statistically significant (r = 0.326, p = 0.001). Conclusion University students studying health sciences are concerned that the use of artificial intelligence in the health sector could pose serious risks. Approximately half of the participants (54.98%) consider the use of AI for the diagnosis and treatment of patients without a healthcare professional to be unethical. Majority of participants (89.57%) believe that the use of AI in diagnostic and treatment processes will lead to unethical outcomes. As students' level of readiness for medical AI and their AI literacy increase, their scores on professional ethical values scale also increase. The majority of participants (77.25%) use AI-based LLMs to access health-related information. Students have a moderate level of medical AI-readiness in terms of median values. To increase students' level of medical AI readiness, it may be beneficial to include courses on AI and ethics in undergraduate education. For this reason, we suggest adding courses on AI and ethics to undergraduate curricula.