From Efficiency to Meaning: Adolescents'Envisioned Role of AI in Health Management

2026-02-27

AI Summary

This study addresses the limited understanding of how adolescents conceptualize the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in health-related learning and management. Focusing on youth aged 14 to 17 within the context of familial celiac disease diagnosis, the research employed design fiction and co-design methods across seven qualitative workshops. Findings reveal a shift in adolescents’ perception of AI—from a mere efficiency tool toward a medium for meaning-making and collaborative sensemaking. The study proposes a novel perspective wherein AI should support adolescent autonomy, reflective capacity, and family-based health collaboration. Four distinct AI roles emerged: facilitating health comprehension and help-seeking intentions, alleviating cognitive load, aiding family health management, and offering guidance that respects user autonomy. Notably, participants expressed ambivalent attitudes toward AI-provided emotional support.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Learning Human Values and Preferences
• Philosophy and Ethics of AI: AI & Epistemology
• Multiagent Systems: Agent/AI Theories and Architectures

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Semantics and Knowledge: Data modeling to support human-machine intelligence, including LLMs agents, intelligent system behavior, explanations, and user-friendly interactions
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Fairness and ethical considerations in crowd work and in human-in-the-loop AI systems

Abstract

While prior research has focused on providers, caregivers, and adult patients, little is known about adolescents'perceptions of AI in health learning and management. Utilizing design fiction and co-design methods, we conducted seven workshops with 23 adolescents (aged 14-17) to understand how they anticipate using health AI in the context of a family celiac diagnosis. Our findings reveal that adolescents have four main envisioned roles of health AI: enhancing health understanding and help-seeking, reducing cognitive burden, supporting family health management, and providing guidance while respecting their autonomy. We also identified nuanced trust and a divided view on emotional support from health AI. These findings suggest that adolescents perceive AI's value as a tool that moves them from efficiency to meaning-one that creates time for valued activities. We discuss opportunities for future health AI systems to be designed to encourage adolescent autonomy and reflection, while also supporting meaningful, dialectical activities.

Problem

• adolescents
• AI in health management
• health learning
• perceptions of AI
• family health

Innovation

• adolescent health
• design fiction
• co-design
• health AI
• autonomy