Chatbots: The Good/ The Bad/ & The Ugly

The Med-X Series welcomes psychiatrist Allen Frances, MD to chat about chatbots. Join Dr. Frances for a discussion about the history, present, and future impacts of chatbots on medicine. Chatbots are the most consequential invention in human history and will profoundly impact every medical specialty- for better and also for worse. They will enhance medical education, clinical care, research, and administrative infrastructure, but may also inflict harms on patients, pose risks for practitioners, and reduce the human element in the doctor/patient relationship. Dr. Frances will discuss the fascinating history of chatbots, their explosive present, and the uncertain future—and indicate why chatbots are simultaneously both genius in their knowledge and jackass in their clinical judgment. Medical schools must train doctors to be chatbot literate—skilled at making them assistants, not rivals or replacements. Dr. Frances is Professor & Chair Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Duke University. He was Chair of DSM-IV Task Force and is the author of Saving Normal, Essentials of 'Psychiatric Diagnosis', and the forthcoming Clinicians Guide To The Wild World Of Chatbots (Guilford Press, Pub Date: Dec 22, 2026).