[{"innerBlocks":[],"name":"core\/freeform","postId":769,"blockType":{"name":"core\/freeform","keywords":[],"attributes":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"providesContext":[],"usesContext":[],"selectors":[],"supports":{"className":false,"customClassName":false,"reusable":false},"styles":[],"variations":[],"apiVersion":3,"title":"Classic","description":"Use the classic WordPress editor.","category":"text"},"originalContent":"While artificial intelligence has tremendous potential for revolutionizing healthcare delivery, there are many possible pitfalls and ill-intended uses of this powerful technology.

That\u2019s the contention of Georgia Tourassi, director of the Health Data Sciences Institute at the Department of Energy\u2019s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

\u201cWith the great promise of AI comes an even greater responsibility,\u201d Tourassi testified on Wednesday before a House committee hearing on AI\u2019s societal and ethical implications. \u201cThere are many ethical questions when applying AI in medicine.\u201d

With respect to ethics, she observed that the massive volumes of health data being leveraged by AI must be carefully protected to preserve privacy.

\u201cThe sheer volume, variability and sensitive nature of the personal data being collected require newer, extensive, secure and sustainable computational infrastructure and algorithms,\u201d according to Tourassi\u2019s testimony.

She also told lawmakers that data ownership and use when it comes to AI continues to be a sensitive issue that must be addressed. \u201cThe line between research use and commercial use is blurry,\u201d said Tourassi.

To maintain a strong ethical AI framework, Tourassi believes fundamental questions need to be answered such as: Who owns the intellectual property of data-driven AI algorithms in healthcare? The patient or the medical center collecting the data by providing the health services? Or the AI developer?

\u201cWe need a federally coordinated conversation involving not only the STEM sciences but also social sciences, economics, law, public policy and patient advocacy stakeholders\u201d to \u201caddress the emerging domain-specific complexities of AI use,\u201d she added, noting that the Human Genome Project included a program to address the ethical, legal and social implications of genomic research, which could serve as a model for an AI framework.

According to Tourassi\u2019s testimony, the Human Genome Project\u2019s ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) program \u201chad a lasting impact on how the entire community, from basic researchers to drug companies to medical workers, used and handled genetic data\u201d and \u201ccontinuing and expanding this research will help to ensure the responsible use of AI for health.\u201d

Also See<\/b>: AI technology comes under fire from critics in Senate hearing<\/a>

\u201cWith respect to the ethics of AI development and deployment, we know that AI algorithms are not immune to low-quality data or biased data,\u201d added Tourassi.

Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, pointed out that in healthcare researchers are looking at how to apply AI-enabled facial analysis systems to detect pain and monitor disease. However, she testified that an investigation of algorithmic bias for clinical populations showed that these systems demonstrated poor performance on older adults with dementia.

\u201cAge and ability should not impede quality of medical treatment, but without care, AI in health can worsen patient outcomes,\u201d added Buolamwini.

Meredith Whittaker, co-founder of New York University\u2019s AI Now Institute, told lawmakers that government agencies are increasingly using AI and algorithmic systems to assess beneficiaries of social services and to manage benefit allocation.

However, according to Whittaker\u2019s testimony, the outcome of these experiments, in many cases, \u201chas been harmful and even deadly to the people such programs are meant to serve.\u201d As an example, she said that several states have turned to automation for Medicaid benefit allocation and that flaws in the system have resulted in serious harm.

\u201cIn Arkansas, such a system was used to calculate how much home healthcare chronically ill Medicaid patients would receive,\u201d Whittaker testified. \u201cDue to an error, the system was significantly under-provisioning many people who required such care to survive. Patients were left to sit in their own waste, unable to access food when they were hungry or to turn themselves to prevent bedsores. If Legal Aid of Arkansas had not brought a case and ultimately audited the system, it\u2019s possible that such harm would have persisted unchecked.\u201d

Tourassi concluded that healthcare is one of the industries that will be most impacted by AI in the 21st century. At the same time, she warned that the medical community faces \u201clots of challenges,\u201d including the fact that the technology has become \u201coverhyped\u201d with \u201cunrealistic expectations of universal benefits.\u201d","saveContent":"While artificial intelligence has tremendous potential for revolutionizing healthcare delivery, there are many possible pitfalls and ill-intended uses of this powerful technology.

That\u2019s the contention of Georgia Tourassi, director of the Health Data Sciences Institute at the Department of Energy\u2019s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

\u201cWith the great promise of AI comes an even greater responsibility,\u201d Tourassi testified on Wednesday before a House committee hearing on AI\u2019s societal and ethical implications. \u201cThere are many ethical questions when applying AI in medicine.\u201d

With respect to ethics, she observed that the massive volumes of health data being leveraged by AI must be carefully protected to preserve privacy.

\u201cThe sheer volume, variability and sensitive nature of the personal data being collected require newer, extensive, secure and sustainable computational infrastructure and algorithms,\u201d according to Tourassi\u2019s testimony.

She also told lawmakers that data ownership and use when it comes to AI continues to be a sensitive issue that must be addressed. \u201cThe line between research use and commercial use is blurry,\u201d said Tourassi.

To maintain a strong ethical AI framework, Tourassi believes fundamental questions need to be answered such as: Who owns the intellectual property of data-driven AI algorithms in healthcare? The patient or the medical center collecting the data by providing the health services? Or the AI developer?

\u201cWe need a federally coordinated conversation involving not only the STEM sciences but also social sciences, economics, law, public policy and patient advocacy stakeholders\u201d to \u201caddress the emerging domain-specific complexities of AI use,\u201d she added, noting that the Human Genome Project included a program to address the ethical, legal and social implications of genomic research, which could serve as a model for an AI framework.

According to Tourassi\u2019s testimony, the Human Genome Project\u2019s ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) program \u201chad a lasting impact on how the entire community, from basic researchers to drug companies to medical workers, used and handled genetic data\u201d and \u201ccontinuing and expanding this research will help to ensure the responsible use of AI for health.\u201d

Also See<\/b>: AI technology comes under fire from critics in Senate hearing<\/a>

\u201cWith respect to the ethics of AI development and deployment, we know that AI algorithms are not immune to low-quality data or biased data,\u201d added Tourassi.

Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, pointed out that in healthcare researchers are looking at how to apply AI-enabled facial analysis systems to detect pain and monitor disease. However, she testified that an investigation of algorithmic bias for clinical populations showed that these systems demonstrated poor performance on older adults with dementia.

\u201cAge and ability should not impede quality of medical treatment, but without care, AI in health can worsen patient outcomes,\u201d added Buolamwini.

Meredith Whittaker, co-founder of New York University\u2019s AI Now Institute, told lawmakers that government agencies are increasingly using AI and algorithmic systems to assess beneficiaries of social services and to manage benefit allocation.

However, according to Whittaker\u2019s testimony, the outcome of these experiments, in many cases, \u201chas been harmful and even deadly to the people such programs are meant to serve.\u201d As an example, she said that several states have turned to automation for Medicaid benefit allocation and that flaws in the system have resulted in serious harm.

\u201cIn Arkansas, such a system was used to calculate how much home healthcare chronically ill Medicaid patients would receive,\u201d Whittaker testified. \u201cDue to an error, the system was significantly under-provisioning many people who required such care to survive. Patients were left to sit in their own waste, unable to access food when they were hungry or to turn themselves to prevent bedsores. If Legal Aid of Arkansas had not brought a case and ultimately audited the system, it\u2019s possible that such harm would have persisted unchecked.\u201d

Tourassi concluded that healthcare is one of the industries that will be most impacted by AI in the 21st century. At the same time, she warned that the medical community faces \u201clots of challenges,\u201d including the fact that the technology has become \u201coverhyped\u201d with \u201cunrealistic expectations of universal benefits.\u201d","order":0,"get_parent":{},"attributes":[],"attributesType":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"dynamicContent":""}]

AI presents host of ethical challenges for healthcare

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