A study published on 11 October in Scientific Reports analyzed a 2025 survey of undergraduate and postgraduate students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran. The stratified sample included 384 students, who rated AI-use preferences across eight domains on a four-point scale. Research and writing had the highest mean score at 2.66, followed by self-learning and education at 2.61. Design and programming scored 1.54 and art 1.68, both below the study’s 2.5 preference threshold.

The authors reported that preferences varied with academic level, gender and GPA. Detailed results also found small group differences by age in curiosity and entertainment and health counseling, and by field of study in content development and curiosity and entertainment; the authors characterize these effects as small. The findings come from self-reported responses at one university during a defined period and should not be treated as representative of all medical students in Iran. The journal labels the paper an accepted early-access version that may receive further edits.