HEALTH PROFESSIONALS' VIEWS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A METAPHORICAL RESEARCH

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the opinions of health professionals about artificial intelligence by using metaphor analysis method. In this study, in which the qualitative research model was used, the phenomenology design was used. The study group of the research consists of 112 health personnel consisting of physicians, nurses and midwives. In order to determine the metaphorical perceptions of health professionals about artificial intelligence; (i):“What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word artificial intelligence?”, (ii): “If artificial intelligence were an animal, it would be …………….. because it is …………….”, ( iii): “If artificial intelligence were a brand, it would be ………….. because it is ………………….” , (iv): “If artificial intelligence were a disease, it would be ………….. because it is …………..”. Four semi-structured metaphor identification forms were used. Content analysis was used as a data evaluation method within the scope of the research. It was determined that the participants produced 27 different metaphors in the first form, 28 in the second, 30 in the third, and 21 in the fourth. In the first form, it was determined that the participants mostly identified artificial intelligence with the metaphors of "Robot", "Technology" and "Unemployment". In the second form, the participants used artificial intelligence as an animal; It was determined that they mostly explained with the metaphor of "Dog" because of their features such as obeying commands, being trainable, being very smart. In the third form, the participants used artificial intelligence as a brand; It has been determined that they mostly describe it with the metaphor of "Apple" due to its fast, high quality and revolutionary features. In the fourth form, the participants used artificial intelligence as a Disease; It has been determined that they mostly explain it with the metaphor of "Cancer" due to its features such as being very common in the world, being difficult when it starts to spread, and being an insidious disease that acts wisely. In addition, it was determined that the perceptions of the participants about artificial intelligence were generally positive and nearly half of them were curious about this subject.