Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42552577›Full record

ArticleMedical education online2026

The hidden patterns of alignment: exploring variability between generative AI and human.

Henry Moon, Ahmet Guven, Kuang-Drew Li, Nicole Rockich-Winston

Abstract read
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Article in Medical education online, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Henry MoonEducational Innovation Institute and Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0973-2593
Ahmet GuvenEducational Innovation Institute and Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.
Kuang-Drew LiMedical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.
Nicole Rockich-WinstonDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2898-4393

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveAligning medical education curricula with standardized competency-based assessments is a multifaceted task that requires accuracy and consistency. While generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) models offer potential assistance, their performance compared to that of human subject matter experts remains unclear. This study investigates the consistency, accuracy, and strategies of human- and AI-generated alignments of pharmacological topics with the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 content.

methodsA comparative case study examined curricular alignment results produced by GenAI models and human experts. Agreement percentages and pairwise correlation coefficients were calculated to assess consistency and consensus within and between the two groups, highlighting similarities and differences in alignments. We also examined challenges, strategies, and the impact of time constraints on the alignment task.

resultsGenAIs exhibited higher inter-rater reliability in within-group comparisons, with exact agreement percentages ranging from 60% to 79% and stronger correlations. In contrast, human raters demonstrated greater variability, with exact agreement percentages between 14% and 66% and weaker correlations. While partial agreement improved alignment for both groups, GenAIs maintained higher overall consistency and consensus. On the other hand, only two human raters and all GenAI models exhibited high inter-rater reliability in between-group comparisons. GenAIs generated alignments based on contextual analysis and hierarchical mapping, while humans engaged in iterative refinement using their expertise and reflection. Time constraints had a minimal impact on GenAIs, whereas it was acknowledged as a limiting factor for human performance.

conclusionGenAIs can efficiently provide accurate and consistent alignments of pharmacological content in medical curricula but lack the sophisticated decision-making capabilities of human experts. While human alignments show variability due to human experts' diverse perspectives and backgrounds, trained experts make more contextually informed decisions. A conceptual model of Curricular Human-AI Teaming (Curricular HAT) could combine these complementary strengths to enhance the workflow and outcomes of curricular alignment. The model supports the transparency and scalability of human-AI collaboration while maintaining the responsibility of human judgment and ethical use of GenAI.

Indexed as

CurriculumEducation, MedicalGenerative Artificial IntelligenceCompetency-Based EducationEducational MeasurementHumansLicensure, MedicalReproducibility of ResultsUnited StatesaccuracyAlignmentartificial intelligenceconsistencycurricular HATcurricular Human-AI Teamingcurriculum mappingGenAIgenerative AIpharmacologyUSMLE

Identifiers

PMID42552577
PMCPMC13446051

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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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.