'Reading Your Health with AI' set for Nov. 24 at Sogeumnaru Library; open to 30 participants aged 14 and older on a first-come, first-served basis
In an era when AI can answer almost any health question, how much should people trust what it tells them?
Mapo-gu will host a special lecture titled "Reading Your Health with AI" on Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Modu Naru hall on the first below-ground floor of Sogeumnaru Library, featuring Yoo Hyun-jae, a professor in the Department of Mass Communication at Sogang University.
The lecture is designed to help residents sort reliable health information from the flood of content generated by AI tools, YouTube and SNS, and to show how to apply that information responsibly in everyday life.
Yoo is a media scholar familiar to general audiences through appearances on the tvN variety program "You Quiz on the Block." Yoo's book "Media and the Century of Life" examines how media shapes health and lifestyle.
The session will move through three areas in sequence: how everyday media consumption affects health, how to evaluate online health information, and how to use AI tools effectively.
The first segment explores media's influence on eating habits and health routines — for instance, craving a particular food after watching a mukbang, or adopting a wellness practice seen in a health video.
The lecture then turns to practical methods for vetting online health information, covering how to check a source's credentials and scientific basis, whether content is tied to product sales or advertising, and how to cross-reference claims against material from authoritative institutions rather than being swayed by personal testimonials or view counts.
Those same evaluation criteria will also be applied to generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, with an emphasis on the possibility of errors in AI-generated responses and the need to verify any health-related information they provide. The session will also note that questions about personal diagnosis and treatment should be discussed with a medical professional.
Participants will also examine how recommendation algorithms surface content similar to videos they have already watched. The session will include time to explore strategies for drawing on diverse sources to avoid information bias, as well as a review of smartphone usage habits.
The lecture will close with a hands-on exercise in which participants use apps such as ChatGPT to apply what they have learned.
The lecture is open to 30 participants aged 14 and older — teenagers and adults alike. Registration opens Thursday at 10 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis through the "Reading Culture Program" section under "Cultural Events" on the Sogeumnaru Library website.
Mapo-gu District Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun said the ability to understand and filter AI-generated health information is increasingly important as the technology makes such content easier than ever to access. "I hope this lecture helps residents use AI wisely and take better care of their health in daily life," he said.
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
