Ethical and Legal Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Course overview

Artificial intelligence in healthcare has outgrown the current ethical and legal structures governing the delivery of healthcare in the United States and worldwide, potentially eroding the protection of patient autonomy and privacy. As artificial intelligence technologies become more complex, they give rise to "black box medicine," making it difficult, if not impossible, to understand how these technologies work. This threatens patient autonomy since patients are not able to be informed sufficiently to enable them to make and consent to their healthcare decisions. Protecting the privacy of patients is also problematic since artificial intelligence relies heavily on data collection and sharing. Nevertheless, artificial intelligence is permanently part of healthcare. The goal is to use it to deliver safer and more effective healthcare, leading to improved patient outcomes while promoting fairness, protecting patient autonomy and privacy, and mitigating potential conflicts of interest.