Most nurses say AI isn't good enough to trust with patient care, survey finds
A new survey reveals that a majority of nurses do not trust artificial intelligence to be sufficiently reliable for use in patient care, citing concerns about accuracy, safety, and the technology's current limitations in clinical settings.
Background
- A new survey of U.S. nurses found that a majority believe AI tools aren't reliable enough for direct patient care, highlighting a trust gap between frontline clinicians and hospital administrators who are investing heavily in AI.
- The poll, conducted by the American Nurses Association and reported by the Washington Post, adds to growing evidence that healthcare AI—from diagnostic algorithms to automated charting—often fails in real-world settings due to bias, errors, or poor integration with clinical workflows.
- Nurses are the largest group of healthcare providers and spend the most time with patients, so their skepticism carries weight; many report that AI systems produce irrelevant alerts, increase documentation burden, or make mistakes that could harm patients.
- This tension matters because hospitals are spending billions on AI, and regulatory bodies like the FDA and HHS are still developing standards for evaluating these tools in clinical practice. The survey suggests that without frontline trust, adoption will stall regardless of investment.