Pediatrician urges rigorous trials for AI tools used with children

Dr. Dua Hassan, a pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital, writes an opinion piece about the growing use of artificial-intelligence applications in child care.

She describes a typical office visit where a child watches a cartoon on a tablet while the parent struggles with daily demands, and notes that doctors are repeatedly asked to limit screen time despite limited guidance on AI-driven tools.

Hassan argues that recommendations for AI must be based on randomized controlled trials that assess real developmental outcomes, not just user engagement or convenience metrics.

She calls on researchers, regulators, and industry to generate robust evidence so clinicians can prescribe AI with the same confidence they have for medicines and other interventions.