Artificial intelligence driven healthcare and stigma in tuberculosis: Through the lens of ethics

The 26.07 lakh reported cases of Tuberculosis (TB) in 2024 render India's target of eradicating TB under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme a distant dream. Nonetheless, by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), India can chase the United Nations' 2030 target. A major obstacle impeding India's initiatives is the stigma associated with TB. Although there has always been a stigma associated with TB, it is the socio-cultural underpinnings of TB which are particularly concerning. Beyond deterring patients from seeking medical help, stigma manifests into numerous repercussions-for instance, patients resort to their own problematic solutions which further worsen the disease. In cases where patients do seek medical care, they often fail to repose trust in caregivers, pay lesser attention to doctor's advice and do not turn up for follow-up appointments, thereby increasing the chances of recurrence. Here, AI can be a gamechanger. It can facilitate stigma mitigation and simultaneously provide treatment to the patient without apparent human intervention. With AI-integration, professional medical help can be delivered to patients via mobile Applications. Nonetheless, the burgeoning AI led technological developments have spurred a spectrum of ethical and legal concerns which require a critical examination. The judicious use of AI in healthcare warrants its deployment to augment human expertise rather than to replace or supplant it. In this context, this paper reviews the challenges and prospects of AI use in healthcare sector, particularly emphasizing on TB management and the associated stigma. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Tuberculosis, Social Stigma, Health Knowledge, Health Attitudes, Health Services Accessibility, TB Stigma.