MINI REVIEW article
Front. Commun.
Sec. Health Communication
Apomediation, AI, and the illusion of autonomy: Risks of misinformation in patient decision-making
Provisionally accepted
- 1Universidad de Guadalajara - Centro Universitario Los Altos, Tepatitlán de Morelos, Mexico
- 2Universidad Tecnica de Machala, Machala, Ecuador
- 3Universidad Técnica de Milagro, Milagro, Ecuador
- 4Rey Juan Carlos University, Móstoles, Spain
- 5Universidad de Especialidades Espiritu Santo, Samborondon, Ecuador
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The increasing integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in digital health is transforming apomediation into AIMediation, which reconfigures patient autonomy and raises ethical concerns that must be addressed. This study examines how algorithmic curation, personalized interfaces, and conversational agents redefine what information becomes visible and trustworthy, generating an illusion of autonomy that can mask the erosion of real decision-making capacity. Based on an exploratory synthesis of the recent literature (n=38), three dimensions are analyzed: algorithmic intermediation, perceived autonomy, and informational vulnerability, with attention to cognitive overload and the amplification of biases in seeking health information. Evidence indicates that AIMediation can improve access to and understanding of health information but also intensify risks, such as misinformation and reliance on opaque outcomes, posing challenges to safeguarding transparency, patient agency, and equitable access to reliable information.
Keywords: AIMediation, Apomediation, cognitive overload, decision-making, Digital Health, Health Communication, Health information quality, Patient autonomy
Received: 13 Aug 2025; Accepted: 09 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ponce-Rojo, Fontaines-Ruiz and Romero-Rodríguez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.