Ethical forethoughts on the use of artificial intelligence in medicine

• Date: 04 April 2024
• Pages: 35-44
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-08-2023-0190
• Published date: 04 April 2024
• Subject Matter: Economics,Social economics
• Author: Bassem T. Elhassan,Alya A. Arabi

Ethical forethoughts on the use of

artif‌icial intelligence in medicine

Bassem T. Elhassan

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital,

Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and

Alya A. Arabi

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine and

Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Purpose –The purposeof this paper is to illuminate the ethical concernsassociated with the use of artif‌icial

intelligence (AI) in the medical sector and to provide solutions that allowderiving maximum benef‌its from

this technologywithout compromising ethical principles.

Design/methodology/approach –This paper provides a comprehensive overview of AI in medicine,

exploring its technicalcapabilities, practical applications,and ethical implications. Based on our expertise, we

offer insightsfrom both technical and practical perspectives.

Findings –The study identif‌ies several advantages of AI in medicine, including its ability to improve

diagnostic accuracy, enhance surgical outcomes, and optimize healthcare delivery. However, there are

pending ethical issues such asalgorithmic bias, lack of transparency, data privacy issues,and the potential

for AI to deskill healthcare professionals and erode humanistic values in patient care. Therefore, it is

important to address these issues as promptly as possible to make sure that we benef‌it from the AI’s

implementationwithout causing any serious drawbacks.

Originality/value –This paper gains its value from the combined practical experience of Professor

Elhassan gained through his practice at top hospitals worldwide,and the theoretical expertise of Dr. Arabi

acquired from international institutes. The shared experiences of the authorsprovide valuable insights that

are benef‌icial for raisingawareness and guiding action in addressing theethical concerns associated with the

integrationof artif‌icial intelligence in medicine.

Keywords Ethics, Artif‌icial intelligence, Challenges, Solutions

Paper type Technical paper

Introduction

Artif‌icial intelligence (AI) is rapidly paving its way into many sectors including medicine.

The promise of AI in medicine is undeniablestarting from the research and development to

the surgical rooms in hospitals, and even the management aspects. Despite the substantial

© Bassem T. ElHassan and Alya A. Arabi. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is

published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce,

distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-

commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full

terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

In the cover page preserve the blind-review conditions.

Statements and declarations: No competing interests to declare. The authors have no relevant

f‌inancial or nonf‌inancial interests to disclose.

Artif‌icial

intelligence in

medicine

35

Received12 September 2023

Revised11 December 2023

Accepted27 January 2024

InternationalJournal of Ethics and

Systems

Vol.41 No. 1, 2025

pp. 35-44

EmeraldPublishing Limited

2514-9369

DOI 10.1108/IJOES-08-2023-0190

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