AI in healthcare: The road to acceptance, trust and adoption

Technology matures. Nothing springs fully formed into the world; it takes time, effort and ingenuity to produce the marvels we benefit from today. And yet, as they become embedded in everyday life, we begin to take them for granted. Strange new technologies become part of the furniture, and perceived threats dissolve away. When an entirely new technology enters the market, suspicion, anxiety or fear are often the first response. Electricity was a dangerous fad, telephones allowed us to communicate with the dead, and in the 1980s, ‘computerphobia’ was widespread. But in the last few decades, the internet has become ubiquitous, and no one bats an eyelid at using databases, spreadsheets or word processors. There is a process that makes a new innovation an accepted part of life. From awareness to interest, trial, and adoption, ultimately, we, the user, must come to trust a new technology for it to achieve its potential impact.