Decision Ownership and Deference to Healthcare AI

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into healthcare decision-making, concerns arise regarding deference to AI systems. While existing discussions highlight issues such as the opacity of AI outputs and responsibility gaps, this paper introduces a new concern: the impact of deference to AI on decision ownership among healthcare professionals. I argue that reliance on AI can lead to a diminished sense of ownership over decisions based on AI-generated outputs. This consequence is problematic, as a strong sense of decision ownership is essential for ensuring high quality patient care. I recommend that this concern be taken into consideration when implementing the use of AI in healthcare contexts. To address the concern, training and policies should discourage healthcare professionals from simply deferring to AI. Instead, we should encourage such professionals to treat AI as merely an assistive tool, which complements rather than replaces their expertise. Whenever there is any doubt or lack of understanding associated with an AI output, further measures must be taken before a decision is made.