AI system
- System
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ChatGPT Plus (GPT-4)
- Model
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GPT-4.
- Release
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Exact release not established.
- Application developer
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OpenAI - Role
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GPT-4 interpreted blood-test results and suggested possible causes of the dog’s anemia.
- Configuration
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Not assessed
- Inputs and outputs
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Not assessed
- Autonomy
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Not assessed
- Workflow
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The owner had two sets of actual blood results plus the babesiosis diagnosis and treatment history. He entered them, with which tests had been run, into GPT-4 via ChatGPT Plus rather than GPT-3.5. The first vet had no working diagnosis and advised waiting, which left the owner looking for a second opinion. A second veterinarian was willing to test for the owner-raised hypothesis and confirmed it before treating.
- Human oversight
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Not assessed
- Relation to AI
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From the owner's typed description and two sets of blood results, GPT-4 explained the trend in the bloodwork. When asked what else could underlie the anemia, it listed candidate causes including IMHA. The owner chose IMHA to put to a second veterinarian, who confirmed it after further tests and treated the dog. Whether that vet would have reached IMHA unprompted is unknown. The owner himself notes IMHA is a common complication of babesiosis, so the counterfactual is unproven. The owner reported that GPT-3.5 did not reach the diagnosis. He said the tool “should be a tool to be used by professionals”.
- AI contribution
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From the owner's typed description and two sets of blood results, GPT-4 explained the trend in the bloodwork. When asked what else could underlie the anemia, it listed candidate causes including IMHA. The owner chose IMHA to put to a second veterinarian, who confirmed it after further tests and treated the dog. Whether that vet would have reached IMHA unprompted is unknown. The owner himself notes IMHA is a common complication of babesiosis, so the counterfactual is unproven. The owner reported that GPT-3.5 did not reach the diagnosis. He said the tool “should be a tool to be used by professionals”.
Benefits
- Outcome identifiers
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Not assessed
- Benefit
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GPT-4 listed IMHA among causes of a dog's worsening anemia; a second vet confirmed and treated; the dog recovered, per the owner's thread.
- Category
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Improved Physical Health
- Status
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Not assessed
- Beneficiary groups
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People.
- Beneficiaries
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Not assessed
- Reach
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Not assessed
- Distribution and access
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Not assessed
- Duration
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Not assessed
- Expected?
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Yes
- Costs and harms
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Not assessed
Measurement
- Studies
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Not assessed
- Study design
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Not assessed
- Measurement
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Not assessed
- Setting and sample
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Not assessed
- Measures
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Not assessed
- Comparison
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Assumed alternative: the first veterinarian, who found no cause after further tests and advised waiting
- Results
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Assumed comparison. Reference: the vet had no clue what it could be. Result: After more blood tests, "the diagnosis was confirmed. GPT4 was right.".
- Additional value from AI
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Not assessed
- Limitations
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Not assessed
- Denominators
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Not assessed
- Materials for replication
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Not assessed
Money
- Kind of value
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Not assessed
- Amount
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Not assessed
- Currency and prices
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Not assessed
- Period and unit
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Not assessed
- Realization
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Not assessed
- Recipients and payers
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Not assessed
- Gross or net
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Not assessed
- Included costs
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Not assessed
- Comparison
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Not assessed
- Method
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Not assessed
- Return and payback
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Not assessed
People and places
- Participants
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Developer:
OpenAI. Operator: OpenAI. - Jurisdictions
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Developer:
United States. Operator: United States. - Ownership and control
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Not assessed
- Dependencies
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Not assessed
- Cross-border connections
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Not assessed
- Geopolitical implications
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Not assessed
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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A licensed clinician confirms the model's suggestion with tests before any treatment is started. The model's output is treated as a hypothesis to raise with a clinician, not as a diagnosis, consistent with its own disclaimer. The underlying data entered are real laboratory results, not a lay description of symptoms alone.
- Replication attempts
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Not assessed
- Later findings
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Nothing after the March 2023 coverage was found; the thread itself already reported that Sassy had made almost a full recovery.
- Availability
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Not assessed
- Institutional decision
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Not assessed
- Grounds
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Not assessed
- Action and result
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Not assessed
- Success criterion
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Not assessed
Evidence
- Source numbers
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AIBD-0138-source-0001–0004
- Citations
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Numbered references below.
- Language
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Not assessed
- Source relationships
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Independent, Beneficiary
- Original evidence
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Not assessed
- Access and versions
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Not assessed
- Supported findings
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Not assessed
- Evidence links
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Not assessed
- Evidence strength
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Not assessed
- Missing evidence
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Not assessed
Grades
- Assessed benefits
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People.
- Depth
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People: 2.
- Reasons
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People: By the owner's own account the diagnosis led to treatment and his dog's near-full recovery. The account is self-reported and unverified by any clinician. The beneficiary is one owner and one animal.
- Observed or intended
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Not assessed
- Rubric
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Not assessed
- Assessor and date
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Not assessed
- Alternative assessments
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Not assessed
- Fill
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Independently reported
Entry details
- Kind
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Not assessed
- Related entries
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Not assessed
- Field
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Veterinary medicine (consumer use). Consumer.
- Purpose
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GPT-4, served through ChatGPT, is a general-purpose conversational model built to answer questions and follow instructions. Answering a diagnostic question about a dog's bloodwork is an instance of that general use, not a designed veterinary function. The model itself prefaced its answer by saying it is not a veterinarian.
- Dates
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Date basis unassessed: 2023 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.
- Stage
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Not assessed
- Version
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SHA-256: 9752a9cc019e…
References
- Other identifiers
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oecd_aim: 2023-03-27-6c5c.
- Category mappings
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Not assessed
- Brief
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Not assessed
- Revisions
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5 revisions. Latest: 21 October 2026.
Sources
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News report Independent author
Steinberg, B. / New York Post (2023). ChatGPT saved my dog's life after vets couldn't figure out diagnosis. New York Post, 27 March 2023.
Once at the second vet, Cooper asked if it could be IMHA, and after many tests, the doctor confirmed that ChatGPT4 was correct.
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News report Independent author
Nguyen, B. / Business Insider (2023). Twitter User Claims GPT-4 Saved Dog's Life Through Diagnostics. Business Insider, 30 March 2023.
Cooper asked the AI what other underlying issues could possibly be, and it gave him a list, including IMHA, or immune-mediated hemolytic anemia.
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News report Independent author
Chakravarti, A. / India Today (2023). ChatGPT saves life of dog, diagnoses problem that even vet could not identify. India Today, 28 March 2023.
it suggested that Sassy's bloodwork and symptoms could indicate immune-mediated hemolytic anaemia (IMHA).
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Other Beneficiary
Cooper (@peakcooper) (2023). #GPT4 saved my dog's life. Twitter thread, 25 March 2023.
#GPT4 saved my dog's life. After my dog got diagnosed with a tick-borne disease, the vet started her on the proper treatment