Community engagement for artificial intelligence health research in Africa

Artificial Intelligence holds the potential to benefit communities in numerous areas, including health. Artificial intelligence health research is, among other things, advancing the accuracy of diagnosis, enabling new drug and treatment options, and reducing costs in healthcare. Like elsewhere, artificial intelligence health research is rapidly expanding across the African continent; however, numerous co-travelling ethical challenges - including those related to data protection, equitable access, and data colonization - are under-addressed. Community engagement is a process through which a number of pertinent health research ethics issues affecting communities can be identified and collaboratively pursued; however, there currently is limited understanding of the opportunities and challenges for community engagement in artificial intelligence research globally. In order to advance collective understanding and support policy and practice innovation, this paper interrogates how communities in Africa could be engaged in artificial intelligence health research. It provides a justification for community engagement in artificial intelligence health research, and discusses its application in African communities. It concludes by offering some context-specific recommendations for priority attention.