Balancing Ethics and Innovation: Can Artificial Intelligence Safely Transform Emergency Surgery? A Narrative...

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Surgical Innovation
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming emergency surgery with enhanced diagnostics and workflows.
• Significant ethical challenges accompany AI implementation, including accountability, transparency, patient autonomy, and bias.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore ethical dilemmas of AI in emergency surgery.
• To propose future directions for responsible and equitable AI integration in this field.

Main Methods:

• A narrative review of literature from January 2010 to December 2024.
• Searches conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar.
• Thematic analysis synthesized ethical, legal, and regulatory issues in AI for surgical and emergency care.

Main Results:

• Identified key ethical concerns: accountability in AI decision-making, algorithmic bias, data privacy, and regulatory gaps.
• Thematic domains included autonomy, beneficence, justice, transparency, and informed consent.
• The 'black box' effect of algorithms presents a significant challenge.

Conclusions:

• Responsible AI in emergency surgery necessitates transparent, explainable models and diverse datasets.
• Robust consent frameworks and clear liability guidelines are crucial.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration is vital for ethically sound, patient-centered AI implementation.