The rules

10 safety rules for using AI about your health

1. Emergencies first. Chest pain, stroke signs, trouble breathing or thoughts of suicide: call 911 or 988, not a chatbot.
2. No identifiers. Never type your name, birth date, address, Social Security, insurance or medical record numbers.
3. Prepare, do not diagnose. Ask AI to explain and to list questions for your doctor, not to give a final answer.
4. Ask for uncertainty. Tell it to say what it does not know and what would change its answer.
5. Ask for sources, then check them. AI can invent studies and links that look real.
6. Never change a medicine because of an AI answer. Call your doctor or pharmacist first.
7. Give context, not identity. Age range, conditions and medicines help. Names do not.
8. Watch for false comfort. If you still feel worse, get seen, whatever the AI said.
9. Children and pregnancy are different. Doses and warning signs change. Call your pediatrician or OB.
10. Bring it to your visit. Print the AI's questions and ask your clinician. That is where the value is.

Human plus AI beats either alone. We do not know what we do not know, so verify.