Do we need AI guardians to protect us from health information overload?

The proliferation of digital health technologies offers individuals extensive access to their health information through fitness trackers, continuous monitors, and self-diagnostic platforms 1 . Increasingly, these provide insights into possible current or future diseases and actions that can be taken by individuals to address or avoid these 1 , 2 . While these tools generate valuable biometric data, medical insight, and potentially enable greater control over one’s well-being, they also present a paradox: more information does not necessarily yield better health outcomes, and there is evidence, at least for some users, that they can experience digital health fatigue, anxiety, and information overload 3 , 4 . This can potentially result in increased cognitive and emotional burden and decreased engagement with healthcare – and it may even ultimately result in compromised health outcomes 3 , 4 , 5 . This article explores how artificial intelligence-enabled assistants might balance informed health management alongside cognitive burden, maximizing digital health benefits while mitigating their potential harms.