JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

The advancement of the healthcare information technology and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) act as effective tools to increase the quality of different healthcare processes. With the limited studies that have investigated employees’ perception toward AI implementation in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian world and with the limited investigations on the effects of employee knowledge and their job type on their perception toward AI implementation, this study aims to explore the employees’ perception and attitude toward the implementation of AI technologies in the healthcare institutions in Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire result was collected from (250) employees of doctors, nurses, and technicians in four of the largest hospitals in Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia. The results of this study showed a fear of replacing employees by AI applications, combined with the lack of AI knowledge. In addition, most of the respondents were not aware of the advantages and most common challenges facing AI applications in the health sector, which reveals the need for training courses. The result showed also that technicians were the most impacted employees by AI applications due to the nature of their jobs that do not require much direct human interaction.