Public Perception of Physicians Who Use Artificial Intelligence - An Extended Replication

This project is an extended replication of Reis et al. (2025), “Public Perception of Physicians Who Use Artificial Intelligence.” The original study examined how patients evaluate physicians who use AI tools in clinical contexts (diagnostic, therapeutic, or administrative). Reis et al. found that physicians who use AI were perceived as less competent, trustworthy, and empathetic, and that participants were less willing to see such physicians, with no significant differences between AI use types. Our extended replication reproduces the original diagnostic AI and control conditions and introduces an additional “diagnostic AI / calibrated” condition. In this new condition, participants receive more specific information about when and how AI is used, emphasizing physician agency, medical competence, and evidence-based application. The project aims to test whether the negative evaluations found in the original study are due to general AI aversion or to insufficiently calibrated communication about AI use.