Responsibility beyond design: Physicians' requirements for ethical medical AI

Area of Science:

• Medical Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Clinical Ethics
• Physician Competencies

Background:

• Medical AI is rapidly advancing for diagnosis, prediction, and treatment.
• Ethical discussions often center on AI design, focusing on transparency, fairness, and explainability.
• Implementation of AI in clinical practice raises questions about physicians' evolving responsibilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the concept of forward-looking responsibility for physicians using medical AI.
• To identify essential competencies and duties for the responsible utilization of medical AI.
• To address the practical implications of AI integration in healthcare.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of physician responsibilities in the context of AI.
• Enumeration of key competencies required for interacting with medical AI.
• Application of a forward-looking responsibility framework.

Main Results:

• Physicians need to understand the scope of reasonable AI outputs.
• Awareness of personal skill decline and monitoring AI accuracy are crucial.
• Forward-looking responsibility encompasses proactive engagement with AI capabilities and limitations.

Conclusions:

• Responsible medical AI use requires physicians to adopt new competencies beyond traditional medical knowledge.
• Physicians must actively manage the integration of AI, anticipating potential challenges.
• A framework of forward-looking responsibility guides physicians in ethically and effectively using AI for patient benefit.