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Incident

Wrong AI suggestions pull radiologists' mammogram ratings off

In a controlled experiment, 27 radiologists' accuracy on mammograms fell sharply when a purported AI suggested an incorrect BI-RADS category.

Sources checked when written 26 September 2026

What happened

Dratsch and colleagues had 27 radiologists read 50 mammograms with a purported AI suggesting a BI-RADS category; in 12 of 40 test cases the suggestion was deliberately wrong. Correct ratings fell from 79.7% to 19.8% for inexperienced readers, 81.3% to 24.8% for moderately experienced readers, and 82.3% to 45.5% for very experienced readers when the suggestion was incorrect. Inexperienced readers were most likely to follow incorrect higher-category suggestions. This is an experiment, not a clinical event, and is listed as the clearest measurement of automation bias in a clinical task.[1]

Documented harm

None (experimental setting).

What it teaches

Sources

  1. Automation Bias in Mammography: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence BI-RADS Suggestions on Reader Performance. Radiology 307(4):e222176 (RSNA), 2 May 2023. Primary Peer-reviewed · link checked 2026-09-26

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