While artificial intelligence promises to revolutionize healthcare systems around the world, what will be the impact on human rights? This question guided a pivotal international conference hosted in Helsinki, which brought together over four hundred participants from health ministries, professional associations, and, for the first time, patient advocacy groups to discuss the impact of artificial intelligence on healthcare.
The conference was co-hosted by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland together with the Council of Europe, which has, in the past, emphasized the balance between the growing potentials of AI in medicine and the possible disruptions it may cause to the conventional doctor-patient relationship. The conference was clear that while innovation is to be welcomed for the hope it brings in expediting diagnosis, customizing treatments, accelerating research, and developing new drugs, we should not be fooled into believing that ethical standards can be compromised.
A Technology Break that Comes with Social Costs
Opening the conference, Finnish Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen discussed the social implications of AI, suggesting, on one hand, a potential risk to respecting patient privacy while, on the other, extending the reach of care through technology.
“AI is one of the biggest technological leaps in recent years, offering enormous opportunities for healthcare, too. AI is already used to a great extent in medical research and in the development of new treatments,” she said.
Nevertheless, Grahn-Laasonen heated that along with such progress come grave ethical concerns. “Besides the vast potential benefits, AI application comes with some ethical concerns like patients’ privacy and access equity to health services. Patients’ self-determination, as well as privacy, needs to be protected regardless of modern technology. These rights must not be compromised under any circumstances,” she added.
Those and especially with the other issues discussed, such sentiments from the speaker have not gone unnoticed for most attendees who are actively seeking ways to utilize the AI tool without destroying the human element foundational to quality care.
Empathy and Trust in the Digital Era
Some issues raised earlier were of concern to Huber too, director of the Health Department of the Council of Europe, as he urged for balance between automation and empathy.
“As you pointed out, the core focus of the AI must fall on the governance of the technologies because of the expectation of the human ability to integrate within healthcare structures for tasks involving critical thinking capabilities, emotional intelligence, and trust. When it comes to personnel and patients, at every stage of their healthcare journey, AI-enabled care should not replace human professional interaction and guidance,” Huber added.
AI can assist with clinical tasks; however, it is AI’s clear limitations when juxtaposed with the emotional and empathic capabilities that deeply characterize human care that matter the most, especially in critical moments during a patient’s health journey.
Equity, Consent, and Competency: Core Issues on the Table
The practical and philosophical issues arising from the application of AI in healthcare are some overriding topics that were discussed at the conference; however, participants brainstormed on how to apply AI to everyday healthcare. Among the most critical issues were how patients can be adequately informed during their interactions with AI systems, what responsibilities the attending health professional has to interact with the AI system on a reasonable level, and how health data that is sensitive should be handled when training such technologies.
One of the most disregarded but critical issues was about ‘informed consent.’ With AI technologies relying on vast amounts of data to function, particularly data scraped from users without their active participation, balance between privacy as well as prescriptive autonomy and dummy levels becomes critical.
Speakers noted that there are already calls for better educational opportunities for clinicians in AI to help physicians rather than to function to disempower them. Health workers need to grasp the strengths and, more importantly, the ethical bounds of the technologies at their disposal.
Grounded in Human Rights: A CDBIO Report
An overview of the current societal impact of AI technology on the physician and patient rapport prompted the Steering Committee for Human Rights in the Fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO) to issue a new report, which then served as the impetus for the conference at hand. This report acted as a baseline document for the discussion of human innovation in relation to human rights and provided necessary structure.
This document aims to underscore the role of healthcare practitioners as dynamic participants instead of passive recipients of AI governance, focusing instead on how to effectively manage healthcare AI in a manner that harnesses—rather than undermines—human agency.
A Path Forward
The Helsinki conference is an example of events aimed at preserving ethical standards alongside technological advancements. With the growing ubiquity of AI technologies within healthcare systems worldwide, it is crucial that innovation is not pursued recklessly. Ensuring humanity retains control over advanced technologies is imperative. The gathering highlighted one critical element: the overarching medical aims AI strives to achieve must always consider the fundamental ethical values of the patient’s rights, privacy, and independence.
As the world continues to scrutinize the possibilities that AI presents, the discussions started in Helsinki serve as a valuable, timely basis for policymaking. The work that lies ahead is to convert these discussions into tangible protective measures so that the future of healthcare is not only technologically sophisticated but also, and most importantly, entirely compassionate.
