Thinking about this from a human-behavior angle: if AI summaries cite YouTube more than medical authorities for health queries, does that slowly train people to treat ‘watchable explanations’ as equal to ‘verified guidance’?
A study on 50k plus health searches found Google’s AI Overviews cite YouTube more than any single hospital, government, or academic domain.
In the future, if the ‘answer layer’ consistently surfaces creator video as the most visible source, does that nudge people toward self-diagnosis and ‘best explainer’ trust instead of institutional guidance?
In 5–10 years, do we see doctors and hospitals adapting by becoming more video-first, do platforms introduce stronger medical provenance standards for AI summaries, or do we end up with a bigger gap between what’s popular and what’s clinically reliable?
Analysis of 50k health queries suggests Google AI Overviews cite YouTube more than any medical site. What could that do to trust in medical authority over the next decade?
byu/useomnia inFuturology
2 Comments
Submission Statement: If the answer layer keeps citing video sources heavily for health questions, does that slowly train people to trust the best explanation over the best evidence?
Long term: do doctors and hospitals have to become more video-first to stay visible, do we get stronger sourcing standards for medical AI answers, or do we just see more confident self-diagnosis and second-guessing of clinicians?
I’ve never met a doctor in the US that actually helped me so I wouldn’t worry about it