{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-30T08:09:42.941Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"ai-health-advice","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"unknown","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":1,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-taiwan-urologist-says-ai-answer-pointed-man-to-varicocele-and-his-hernia-was-diagnosed-two-years-later","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"一名50歲物流男，約兩年前發現蛋蛋上方「腫腫的凸出一包」，上網搜尋及詢問 AI 後誤以為是常見的「精索靜脈曲張」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"一名 50 歲物流業男性員工，約兩年前發現蛋蛋上方「腫腫的凸出一包」，上網搜尋及詢問 AI 後，誤以為是常見的「精索靜脈曲張」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"一名50歲物流業男性約2年前發現蛋蛋上方「腫腫的凸出一包」，上網搜尋及詢問AI後，誤以為是常見的精索靜脈曲張","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The treating urologist said that a 50-year-old man who works in logistics noticed a swelling above a testicle about two years earlier, searched online and asked AI, and came to believe it was a common varicocele.","causal_attribution":"The urologist's account of what the patient reported; the AI conversation itself is not shown."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"患者當初因為透過網路與AI輸入關鍵字查詢，搜尋結果與 AI 對話皆導向精索靜脈曲張，讓他誤以為只是血管膨大而掉以輕心，一拖就快兩年 ... 因無劇痛且工作繁忙未就醫","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"當初搜尋結果與AI對話皆導向精索靜脈曲張，讓他誤以為只是血管膨大而掉以輕心","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The urologist said both the search results and the AI conversation pointed to varicocele, so the patient took the swelling lightly and, with no severe pain and a busy job, put off seeing a doctor for nearly two years.","causal_attribution":"The urologist links the delay to the search results and the AI answer together, alongside the absence of severe pain and the patient's workload; the AI's share of the delay cannot be separated from the web search."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"他問AI「睪丸上方腫起一包是怎麼了？」AI回覆「精索靜脈曲張」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"TVBS reports that the man asked the AI what a swelling above the testicle was and that the AI answered varicocele.","causal_attribution":"TVBS's account, drawn from the urologist; no other report quotes the question or the answer."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"直到近期腫塊變明顯影響外觀，就醫確診為搬重物增加腹壓造成「腹股溝疝氣」，需要手術修補","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"直到近期突起部分越來越明顯、甚至影響外觀，才前往泌尿科求診，原來根本不是精索靜脈曲張，而是長期搬重物增加腹壓，使腹壁薄弱處形成「腹股溝疝氣」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"When the swelling became more prominent and changed his appearance, the man saw a urologist, who diagnosed an inguinal hernia, which the urologist attributes to years of heavy lifting at work, and said it needs surgical repair.","causal_attribution":"Clinical diagnosis reported by the treating urologist; the hernia itself is attributed to heavy lifting, not to the AI."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"已形成疝氣的腹壁缺口，通常不會自行癒合，如果一直都沒修補起來，破洞可能逐漸擴大；如果從這個缺口突出去的腸子被缺口卡住、無法回到腹腔，就稱為「嵌頓」，很可能進一步影響血液供應，造成「腸壞死」，需要緊急動更大的手術。因此，越早診斷可避免出現可能的併發症，及早治癒 ... 考量到他是搬運工作者難以長期請假，可評估微創無張力疝氣修補術","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The urologist said a hernia does not heal on its own, can enlarge, and can lead to incarceration and bowel necrosis requiring emergency surgery, so earlier diagnosis avoids complications; for this patient the urologist described an outpatient minimally invasive mesh repair as an option.","causal_attribution":"General clinical risk stated by the urologist; no complication is reported for this patient."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"若沒有精準描述部位與症狀，AI 可能給出與實際病情不符的方向，進而延誤最佳診療時機","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"AI不是醫師，彙整的資訊只能作為參考，問完下一步還是要看醫師","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The urologist said that AI may point in a direction that does not fit the actual condition when people do not describe the site and symptoms precisely, and that AI is a reference only and people should still see a doctor.","causal_attribution":"The urologist's general assessment; it places part of the risk on how the question is described."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"桃園一名50歲物流業男性也這樣做","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"桃園一名 50 歲物流業男性員工","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"TVBS and CTi News place the patient in Taoyuan.","causal_attribution":"Location as reported; not material to the AI's role."}],"effects":[{"label":"about two years of delay before an inguinal hernia was diagnosed (urologist's account)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"hernia needing surgical repair found after the delay (urologist's account)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://health.ettoday.net/news/3262674","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh-TW","translation_note":"Read in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-30 (HTTP 200). Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator was involved. The article relays the account of the treating urologist, who is the only witness to the patient's history in all four reports. ETtoday published first (29 Oct 2026, 11:22 Taiwan time), reporter based in Taipei.","independence_group":"taiwan-treating-urologist-account-oct-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://health.tvbs.com.tw/strong/367052","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh-TW","translation_note":"Read in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-30 (HTTP 200). Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator was involved. The article relays the account of the treating urologist, who is the only witness to the patient's history in all four reports. TVBS Health 2.0 (29 Oct 2026, 14:00) lists the urologist as its consulted expert and refers to the patient by an initial.","independence_group":"taiwan-treating-urologist-account-oct-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://ctinews.com/news/items/M9n6mwK3xR","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh-TW","translation_note":"Read in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-30 (HTTP 200). Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator was involved. The article relays the account of the treating urologist, who is the only witness to the patient's history in all four reports. CTi News (29 Oct 2026, 15:29).","independence_group":"taiwan-treating-urologist-account-oct-2026"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20261029002100-260418","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh-TW","translation_note":"Read in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-30 (HTTP 200). Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator was involved. The article relays the account of the treating urologist, who is the only witness to the patient's history in all four reports. China Times (29 Oct 2026, 11:21).","independence_group":"taiwan-treating-urologist-account-oct-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health"],"unknowns":["Which AI product the patient used and what exactly he typed; only TVBS quotes a question and a one-word answer.","When the patient asked the AI and when the hernia was diagnosed; the reports say only \"about two years ago\" and \"recently\".","Whether the repair has been carried out, and whether the delay changed the treatment or outcome; no complication is reported.","How much of the delay came from the AI answer as against the web search, the lack of severe pain and the patient's workload."],"geography":{"basis":"TVBS says a man in Taoyuan did this (searched online and asked AI about the swelling), and CTi News describes the patient as a man in Taoyuan; the event is placed in Taiwan on those statements. The reports do not separately state where the clinic that diagnosed the hernia is.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["TW"],"affected_person_countries":["TW"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a chatbot health-advice case: the treating urologist told four Taiwanese outlets that a patient's AI conversation, together with his web search, pointed to varicocele, that he therefore took a swelling lightly and delayed care for nearly two years, and that an inguinal hernia needing surgical repair was then diagnosed. One witness, the treating doctor; the patient's own words are not reported.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-30"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The treating urologist says the patient described a swelling to an AI system and that the AI conversation, like his web search results, pointed to varicocele; TVBS reports the AI answered \"varicocele\" to his question. The urologist connects that answer to the patient taking the swelling lightly and delaying care for nearly two years until an inguinal hernia was diagnosed. The AI product is not named and the conversation is not shown.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Taiwan urologist says an AI answer pointed a man to varicocele and he delayed care about two years before an inguinal hernia diagnosis","summary":"On 29 October 2026 ETtoday, TVBS, CTi News and China Times relayed a Taiwanese urologist's account of a patient, a man in his fifties who works in logistics. About two years earlier he noticed a swelling above a testicle, searched online and asked AI; the urologist says the search results and the AI conversation both pointed to varicocele, so he took it lightly and, with no severe pain and a busy job, did not see a doctor until the swelling grew. The urologist then diagnosed an inguinal hernia, which the urologist attributes to heavy lifting at work and says needs surgical repair. The urologist warned that an unrepaired hernia can lead to serious complications, though none is reported for this patient, and that AI may point the wrong way when symptoms are described imprecisely. The AI product is not named.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-29","aiSystem":"An unnamed AI system the patient asked about his symptoms (described as an \"AI conversation\"), as relayed by the treating urologist","aiProduct":"Unidentified chatbot","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["treatment_disruption"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The treating urologist says a man delayed seeing a doctor for nearly two years after an AI answer and web search results pointed to varicocele, and that the inguinal hernia then diagnosed needs surgical repair (doctor's account; no complication reported).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person counted: the patient described by the treating urologist, who used the AI system.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"assistant","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://health.ettoday.net/news/3262674","primarySourceLabel":"ETtoday Health, 29 Oct 2026: man asked AI about a swelling and learned two years later it was a hernia","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-30T03:02:50.339771+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-30T03:02:50.339771+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-health-advice","delayed-diagnosis","taiwan","communicated-with"]}]}