In this article, student doctor Ikaneng Yingwane explores the ethical concerns of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
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The intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and medicine provides a myriad of ethical considerations that command careful examination. As AI continues to permeate a variety of domains in healthcare it is crucial to put these ethical challenges under a microscope to ensure principle and equitable use. It stands to improve patient care or potentially damage the relationship between patient and healthcare provider.
There has been a surge in the use of AI in the previous years, and this has inadvertently put healthcare in the hands of the user (patient), and the upside to this is that the user has the ability to get a picture of what ails them and what could potentially for them. With that, they get to visit a doctor being prepared to have a fruitful and engaging consultation. However, there is a downside as it might enable patients to undermine the knowledge and counsel of their doctor. In essence, with AI, patients have a great in their hands that puts their autonomy at the forefront, and they get to be more in control of how they want to be cared for in the medical space.
On the doctors’ end, I think it raises concern that patients might lose respect for their insight due to consulting AI, although internet search diagnoses have been rife long before its rise. The issue lies in the fact that there is an impression that of AI being more reliable that a learned professional regardless of the chatbot simply collecting data that exists across the internet irrespective of its legitimacy. The other concern is that patients might avoid consulting altogether by relying solely on the information provided by AI. Though it does not directly affect the doctor’s ethical obligations, it does run the risk of them not being able to uphold their oath to provide care.
AI machines/systems in healthcare aim to improve the provision of care as algorithms put in place are to assist with diagnosis and therapy, as well as improving patient satisfaction when visiting a healthcare establishment. The enhancements that come with AI could potentially perpetuate bias if they work based on the algorithms they are trained on. Balance between the bias that might arise, and fairness is a thin line that could be tipped either way. However, the introduction of legislation that regulates how AI machines, as the use of improved could mean an increase in healthcare costs and that could further disadvantage marginalised communities, and this goes against the fairness aspect of the justice principle of bioethics.
In theory, artificial intelligence could be medicine’s compatriot, from patients being equipped with knowledge at the tip of their fingers to them having open honest dialogues with their doctors. Open dialogues about the dominance posed by AI could possibly ease concerns about it rendering medical professionals obsolete. Discussions on the introduction of the legislature of how AI can be used in healthcare spaces to mitigate bias that might arise and ensure that fairness is achieved, thus upholding the core principles of bioethics such as justice.
