Promise and Perils of AI in Medicine

VIENNA — At the  European Respiratory Society (ERS) 2024 Congress, experts discussed the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine and explored ethical implications and practical challenges.

With over 600 AI-enabled medical devices registered with the US Food and Drug Administration since 2020, AI is rapidly pervading healthcare systems. But like any other medical device, AI tools must be thoroughly assessed and follow strict regulations.

Joshua Hatherley, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Philosophy and History of Ideas at Aarhus University in Denmark, said the traditional bioethical principles — autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice — remain a crucial framework for assessing ethics regarding the use of AI tools in medicine. However, he said the emerging fifth principle of “explainability” has gained attention due to the unique characteristics of AI systems.

“Everyone is excited about AI right now, but there are many open questions about how much we can trust it and to what extent we can use it,” Ana Catalina Hernandez Padilla, a clinical researcher at the Université de Limoges, France, told Medscape Medical News.

Joseph Alderman, MBChB, an AI and digital health clinical research fellow at the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing at the University of Birmingham, UK, said these are undoubtedly exciting times to work in AI and health, but he believes clinicians should be “part of the story” and advocate for AI that is safe, effective, and equitable.

The Pros

Alderman said AI has huge potential to improve healthcare and patients’ experiences.

One i…