WHO Report Targets AI in Health, Cautions Against Health Disparities

The World Health Organization (WHO) released the first global report on artificial intelligence in healthcare and six principles to avoid health disparities in the field.

The report, Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health, is the outcome of two years of consultations held by a panel of WHO appointed international experts.

“Like all new technology, artificial intelligence holds enormous potential for improving the health of millions of people around the world, but like all technology it can also be misused and cause harm,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, WHO director-general, said in a press release. “This important new report provides a valuable guide for countries on how to maximize the benefits of AI, while minimizing its risks and avoiding its pitfalls.”

Artificial intelligence can be used to “improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosis and screening for diseases; to assist with clinical care; strengthen health research and drug development, and support diverse public health interventions, such as disease surveillance, outbreak response, and health systems management,” WHO stated in a press release.

AI also encourages patient engagement by helping individuals gain a better understanding of their healthcare needs and it bridges gaps in accessibility to healthcare services in poor countries and rural communities, tackling health disparities and inequities.

However, WHO’s report cautions against overestimating the benefits of artificial intelligence in healthcare. WHO specifically draws awareness to when artificial intelligence advances and research take place over core investments and strategies that are necessary to achieve universal health coverage.

The organization also highlights the challenges and risks that are linked to artificial intelligence in health. These include “unethical collection and use of health data; biases encoded in algorithms, and risks of AI to patient safety, cybersecurity, and the environment,” WHO stated.

What’s more, WHO’s report emphasizes the possible health disparities that could emerge as a result of artificial intelligence. AI systems that are primarily trained on data collected from patients in high-income settings will not perform as effectively for individuals in low or middle-income communities.

According to WHO, artificial intelligence should be designed to reflect diversity in socioeconomic and healthcare settings to avoid health disparities. Additionally, artificial intelligence systems should receive training that appropriately reflects diverse communities.

“They should be accompanied by training in digital skills, community engagement and awareness-raising, especially for millions of healthcare workers who will require digital literacy or retraining if their roles and functions are automated, and who must contend with machines that could challenge the decision-making and autonomy of providers and patients,” WHO said. 

As artificial intelligence becomes more commonplace in the healthcare ecosystem, ethics and human rights obligations should be at the forefront of the discussion, according to WHO. Those implementing AI technology should be addressing ethics and human rights concerns at every stage of the design, development, and deployment process.

In order to prevent care disparities, WHO’s report included six principles to act as a basis for artificial intelligence regulation and governance. The purpose is to ensure that AI is serving the public in all countries.   

These principles are: 1) Protecting human autonomy; 2) Promoting human well-being and safety and the public interest; 3) Ensuring transparency, explainability and intelligibility; 4) Fostering responsibility and accountability; 5) Ensuring inclusiveness and equity; 6) Promoting AI that is responsive and sustainable.

According to WHO, these principles will guide future work to support the full potential of AI in healthcare and prevent care disparities.