Ethical Considerations in the Advent of Artificial Intelligence in Otolaryngology

Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly expanding within the sphere of health care, offering the potential to enhance the efficiency of care delivery, diminish costs, and reduce diagnostic and therapeutic errors. As the field of otolaryngology also explores use of AI technology in patient care, a number of ethical questions warrant attention prior to widespread implementation of AI. This commentary poses many of these ethical questions for consideration by the otolaryngologist specifically, using the 4 pillars of medical ethics-autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice-as a framework and advocating both for the assistive role of AI in health care and for the shared decision-making, empathic approach to patient care.