Ethical Challenges in AI-driven Healthcare Innovations

Abstract

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is assuming an increasingly important role in shaping both how healthcare is delivered and healthcare decision-making. The ability of AI-driven technologies, from affordable technologies such as Fitbits and Apple Watches to more expensive MRI machines, to gather and analyze large datasets combined with the recent advances in AI technologies like deep learning is providing trillions of dollars in investment to numerous companies working in various areas of electronic health technologies in order to develop new innovative technologies so that AI interventions will become more unobtrusive and useful for treatment and disease management. This latest technological revolution makes it not only important to deliver AI-driven innovations wisely but also to understand the potential ethical challenges regarding uncertainties of the future. Studies in ethics and social science suggest that AI-driven healthcare solutions face four ethical challenges: a) Privacy challenges, as AI can decode encrypted data, making patients vulnerable to espionage. b) Medicolegal challenges arise from potential AI errors in surgeries or diagnoses, leading to legal accountability. c) Issues with transparency stem from AI's inadequate ability to explain decision-making processes simply. d) Challenges in obtaining informed consent occur as some AI applications may be too autonomous, complicating explanations to laypersons and potentially obfuscating breaches of consent. This adversarial dynamic between healthcare practitioners and patients’ needs addressing. We discuss the necessity for ethical innovations in AI healthcare and propose strategies to mitigate negative impacts on patients and society. It is crucial to balance ethical innovation demands with the need for AI advancements in healthcare, ensuring equitable benefits for both patients and practitioners in this societal revolution.