Three dominant themes in the discussion
| # | Theme | Key points & representative quotes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Consumer health data is noisy and AI can mis‑interpret it | • “Apple says it collects an ‘estimate’ of VO₂ max … independent researchers found those estimates can run low – by an average of 13 percent.” – freedomben • “Apple Watch underestimated VO₂ max, with a mean difference of 6.07 mL/kg/min … MAPE was 13.31 %.” – ignoramous • “Health metrics are absolutely tarnished by a lack of proper context … you can’t reliably take a concept as broad as health and reduce it to a number.” – chrisfosterelli |
| 2 | AI health tools are marketed as trustworthy while being unreliable | • “OpenAI is practically begging you to jump in and use it for personal, life or death type decisions, and does very little to help you understand when it may be wrong.” – anon7000 • “The product itself is telling you in plain English that it’s ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN about its answer… even when you challenge it.” – anon7000 • “The problem is that AI companies are selling, advertising, and shipping AI as a tool that works most of the time for what you ask it to do. That’s deeply misleading.” – anon7000 |
| 3 | Human doctors still need to be the final arbiter; AI should be a supplement, not a replacement | • “I would never let an LLM make an amputate or not decision, but it could convince me to go talk with an expert who sees me in person …” – maerF0x0 • “Good doctors will counsel you and tell you that the lab results are just one metric and one input.” – Shank • “Without a proper clinical validation, they are not worth to try.” – sinuhe69 |
These three themes—data reliability, marketing misrepresentation, and the need for human oversight—capture the core concerns voiced by the majority of commenters.