Artificial Intelligence: The Good, The Bad, and Potential Policies to Guide It

Once the realm of science fiction, artificial intelligence is making inroads into many aspects of healthcare, with one recent report from UnivDatos predicting the technology will attain a market value of $26.6 billion by 2025. Some may fear AI has entered a Wild West phase, unfettered by proper policies and oversight. A report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), in concert with the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), signals that the government and healthcare professionals are taking a closer look at the AI phenomenon, and that regulatory oversight may emerge down the road. Artificial Intelligence in Health Care: Benefits and Challenges of Technologies to Augment Patient Care, a 106-page report to "congressional requesters," addresses the promise of AI in healthcare, as well as the need to exercise caution. In a jointly signed introductory letter to the report, Karen L. Howard, PhD, director, science, technology assessment, and analytics for the GAO and J. Michael McGinnis, MD, MA, MPP, the Leonard D. Schaeffer Executive Officer and Executive Director of the NAM Leadership Consortium, said "AI has promising applications in health care, including in augmenting patient care. For example," they continued, "it may have the potential to improve treatment, reduce burden on providers, and generally increase the efficiency with which health care facilities and providers use resources, resulting in potential cost savings or health gains. However, as might be expected with a tool with such broad potential use in health and health care decision-making, applying AI tools for health and health care also raises ethical, legal, economic, and social questions."