What happened
Aflac President Virgil Miller wrote that AI should copilot but not drive healthcare, citing a recent study where 76% of Gen Z adults and 63% of millennials turn to AI before seeing a doctor.
Why it matters
Miller says knowing more is not the same as knowing what to do next, and that AI cannot perform a mammogram or colonoscopy, at a time when nearly two-thirds of Americans delay recommended health screenings.
What to watch
Miller's test is whether AI helps people actually follow through — understanding screening options or preparing doctor's questions — since encouragement from a trusted person, not a screen, changes screening behavior.
WHO IT HITSHealth insurers and benefits teams, especially those in cancer insurance, may face claims tied to missed screenings, while everyday patients deciding whether to trust AI answers over a doctor are the group Miller addresses.
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Miller's piece lands during a fall season when cancer awareness campaigns, survivor stories and screening reminders compete for attention. Alongside that, he points to a shift in behavior: a recent study showing most Gen Z adults and many millennials now ask AI about their health before seeing a doctor.
Miller draws on more than two decades in leadership roles at Aflac and on his own family's experience with cancer. He also notes that Aflac's business model depends on what happens when screenings are missed and diagnoses come late, and that these questions show up in the company's claims data.
The stakes he frames are less about the technology itself than about follow-through. AI can help someone understand screening options or prepare questions for an appointment, but someone still has to book and attend it. Whether AI moves people toward that step, or gives a false sense of having already acted, is the outcome his argument hinges on.
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