Biomed Pap Med Fac Univ Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub. 2024, 168(4):277-283 | DOI: 10.5507/bp.2024.027

Exploring the benefits and challenges of AI-driven large language models in gastroenterology: Think out of the box

Jan Kral^{1, 2}, Michal Hradis^{3, 4}, Marek Buzga^{5, 6}, Lumir Kunovsky^{7, 8, 9}

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Motol and Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

² Department of Hepatogastroenterology, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic

³ MAIA LABS s.r.o., Brno, Czech Republic

⁴ Faculty of Information Technology, University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic

⁵ Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic

⁶ Institute of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic

⁷ 2nd Department of Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology and Geriatrics, University Hospital Olomouc and Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic

⁸ Department of Surgery, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

⁹ Department of Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy, Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, Brno, Czech Republic

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has evolved significantly over the past decades, from its early concepts in the 1950s to the present era of deep learning and natural language processing. Advanced large language models (LLMs), such as Chatbot Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) is trained to generate human-like text responses. This technology has the potential to revolutionize various aspects of gastroenterology, including diagnosis, treatment, education, and decision-making support. The benefits of using LLMs in gastroenterology could include accelerating diagnosis and treatment, providing personalized care, enhancing education and training, assisting in decision-making, and improving communication with patients. However, drawbacks and challenges such as limited AI capability, training on possibly biased data, data errors, security and privacy concerns, and implementation costs must be addressed to ensure the responsible and effective use of this technology. The future of LLMs in gastroenterology relies on the ability to process and analyse large amounts of data, identify patterns, and summarize information and thus assist physicians in creating personalized treatment plans. As AI advances, LLMs will become more accurate and efficient, allowing for faster diagnosis and treatment of gastroenterological conditions. Ensuring effective collaboration between AI developers, healthcare professionals, and regulatory bodies is essential for the responsible and effective use of this technology. By finding the right balance between AI and human expertise and addressing the limitations and risks associated with its use, LLMs can play an increasingly significant role in gastroenterology, contributing to better patient care and supporting doctors in their work.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, large language model, gastroenterology

Received: April 14, 2024; Revised: July 21, 2024; Accepted: August 16, 2024; Prepublished online: September 4, 2024; Published: November 22, 2024  Show citation