ArticleWorld journal of gastroenterology2025
Decoding Alexander the Great's gastrointestinal cause of death using artificial wisdom: An artificial intelligence-human inquiry into a medical mystery.
Article in World journal of gastroenterology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Letter to the Editor: Artificial wisdom and the transience of truth: Ethical and temporal reflections on artificial intelligence-human inquiry into history.World journal of methodology · 2026Article
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5 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChatGPT was developed in November 2022 with studies showing its impressive performance in academic examinations, serving as a promising tool to answer questions even on controversial topics. Artificial intelligence (AI) achieving surface-level performance does not necessarily equate to a deep understanding of human cognition. The development of artificial wisdom, therefore, necessitates a shift from simply mimicking intelligent behavior to modeling the underlying mechanisms of human wisdom, including emotional understanding, ethical considerations, and contextual awareness. Several theories exist behind the death of Alexander the Great, but no definitive conclusion has been made.
aimTo evaluate whether a hybrid approach, combining generative AI (ChatGPT) with human clinical judgment, can meaningfully reassess the cause of death of Alexander the Great.
methodsThis is a cross-sectional study using ChatGPT (version 4 Pro). A search was performed with search terms describing the symptoms experienced by Alexander the Great and possible causes of his death: West Nile virus (WNV) encephalitis, poisoning, acute pancreatitis due to excessive alcohol consumption, typhoid fever, and malaria. The historical data and symptomatology were analyzed, weighing evidence and context in a manner akin to human wisdom.
resultsThe most likely cause of death of Alexander the Great, as generated by ChatGPT, was typhoid fever complicated by Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). The hypothesis was based on the alignment between Alexander's reported symptoms, such as prolonged high fever, severe abdominal pain, neurological decline, and the known clinical presentation of typhoid fever. However, after carefully reviewing the sources mentioned by ChatGPT, many did not back up the idea that typhoid caused GBS and instead pointed to
conclusionWhile ChatGPT initially concluded typhoid fever with GBS as the most plausible cause of death, expert reappraisal of the sources and pathophysiology suggested that
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.