HUL281

Major Exam
Topic- AI in health
Submitted by – Neha (2017CH70296)

AI can be used in detection and monitoring of various diseases in their earlier stages by
combing data from the patient’s medical history, wearables, and other medical devices. AI
can diagnose diseases more accurately than a medical practioner by reviewing data from
studies all around the world. It can improve the daily life of health care workers by doing
repetitive and routine tasks and let them spend time looking after patients. It can be used in
drug research and discovery and can ultimately cut down the cost and time of new drug
development. Ultimately AI will lead to treatments that save lives reaching to markets faster.
It can be used for identification of high risk population for life threatening diseases. It can
help in detection, monitoring and surveillance of out brakes of pandemics like covid, Ebola.
In case of scares resources it can assist in prioritizing individuals which require immediate
assistance and intensive care. It can help in management as well as planning of healthcare
systems. AI can equip patients with apps that allow them to manage their care themselves. AI
can improve the state of health care services in rural areas and developing countries where
resources are not enough and medical professionals are not accessible to all sections of
society.1 Private sector actors and multinational companies develop, design, deploy,
implement, sell and service the AI infrastructure and algorithms used in health sector. They
need to respect the fundamental freedoms, human rights and privacy of all the parties
involved.
More and more number of countries are starting to experiment with use of AI in health sector
due to the vast number of benefits but its implementation involves several challenges and
risks too. International actors like WHO, humanitarian and human rights organisations, and
researchers object to the development and deployment of AI in health due to ethical, legal,
and technological concerns. 2 Some of the reasons for their objections are mentioned in this
passage. for There are not sufficient laws and policies to manage and regulate the use of AI in
health sector. AI can lead to advancement of human rights but it can also undermine their
basic core. AI may compromise patients autonomy and privacy and lead to discrimination
against people with certain diseases. Data protection is also a major concern. Personal data of
patients may also be compromised. AI in health can lead to discrimination and bias against
certain sections leading to unfair decisions based on the data it was trained or the personal
bias of the algorithm developer. The decisions taken by AI and the process by which they are
taken is impossible to explain and known as the black box problem. The AI decisions lack
transparency and are obscure to users. There is no accountability for decision made by AI
based systems. If an discriminatory, unfair or unjust decision is made by AI there is no one to
be held responsible for it. There are no ethical principles specified yet for use of AI in health.
AI also poses the issue of informed consent for use and sharing of data. Creating a platform
for collection of data related to health which is completely secure is also an issue. Regulatory
framework needs to be developed before the implementation of AI in health to ensure safe
and efficient use. AI needs to be governed with ethical principles and regulatory frameworks.

1
https://www.who.int/news/item/28-06-2021-who-issues-first-global-report-on-ai-in-health-and-six-guiding-
principles-for-its-design-and-use
2
https://international-review.icrc.org/articles/ai-humanitarian-action-human-rights-ethics-913
The frameworks should be developed to make use of AI in a transparent and well
documented way that minimises risk and possibility of privacy breach.
All ethical values are dependent on two basic values, human dignity and human worth. Some
basic requirements of AI in health to be considered ethical are avoiding causing harm to
someone, fair and unbiased treatment of all, no discrimination against anyone and not
compromising a person’s autonomy. Basic ethical principles should be implemented in the
use of AI in health. The autonomy of a person should be protected and respected. A person
should be completely in control of decision of their healthcare. AI should be used to assist
medical experts and their decisions should be final.3 Privacy of a patient should be protected
and all their details should remain confidential. Informed consent should be taken for data
collection, sharing and usages. The quality and efficiency of AI should be tested and
regulated before it is used. The aim of an AI system should be promoting well being of
humans, along with their safety. Developers, regulators along with users should be able to
understand the technology they are using. The explain ability of AI needs to be improved. It
needs to be made more transparent on its decision making process. Whenever something goes
wrong while using AI in health someone should be accountable for the decisions made by it.
AI should be carefully and responsibility developed and should take into consideration
ethical, and technological aspects. The health care workers should be trained to operate and
efficiently use AI systems.

3
https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/html/10.1055/s-0039-1677908