Adapting Clinical Ethics Consultations to Address Ethical Issues of Artificial Intelligence

AbstractAs artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly incorporated into the workflow of clinical practice, it will raise numerous ethical issues and lead to related clinical ethics consultations to address those issues. However, many of the ethical issues associated with AI feature fundamental distinctions from those currently encountered in clinical ethics consultations. Despite potential differences in the types of ethical issues precipitated by AI, little attention has been given to how to approach these issues when they need to be addressed in clinical ethics consultations. In this article, we provide a walkthrough on adapting clinical ethics consultations to look at these issues through an AI lens, which will allow us to recognize essential information and develop targeted questions that guide consultations toward appropriate decisions. We then provide three case studies exploring hypothetical scenarios based on real AI systems and how a clinical ethicist might guide the discussion of ethical issues presented by AI in each scenario. Following the case studies, we further discuss clinical AI in the context of clinical ethics consultations and conclude with a call for more attention to this area of increasing importance.