Perception among gastroenterologists to artificial intelligence in a low middle income setting.

Objective: To determine the perception among gastroenterologists to artificial intelligence (AI) in a low middle income setting. Study Design: Cross Sectional study. Setting: Department of Gastroenterology, Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. Period: June 2023 to June 2024. Methods: Study included 200 participants. The perception of participants regarding AI was evaluated through self-administrated questionnaire. Scores for questions were coded as 1,2,3,4 and 5. Participants entered their responses regarding use of AI. The perception of participants regarding AI was considered positive when participants achieved a composite score ≥4. Data were analyzed using IBM-SPSS Statistics version 26.0. P-value ≤0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Among study participants, 155 (77.5%) were male. Mean age was 34.61±7.41 years. There were 115 (57.5%) residents/fellows, followed by 58 (29%) consultants. Thirty (15.0%) respondents said that they have used AI, among them 22 (73.3%) had used this for at least 10 times. Positive opinions were noted by 94 (47%) gastroenterologists in our investigation. Significant association between gastroenterologists' perceptions of AI with gender (p=0.000), the total number of endoscopies performed each week (p=0.009), and use of AI (p=0.002) was documented. Male gastroenterologists were found more likely to have positive perceptions, (OR=2.079, p=0.039). Compared to gastroenterologists over 35 years, those under 35 were less likely to have a positive perception. (p=0.075, OR=0.571). Conclusion: Gastroenterologists showed positive perspectives towards AI. This study discovered a significant association between gastroenterologists perceptions of AI with gender, total number of endoscopies performed each week, and use of AI.