Introduce the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI). How does AI help clinical diagnosis? Do you perceive any threat to privacy of the individual in the use of Al in healthcare?

Q5. Introduce the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI). How does AI help clinical diagnosis? Do you perceive any threat to privacy of the individual in the use of Al in healthcare? – Science & Tech

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a simulation of human intelligence into a computer machine so that it can think and act like a human. AI systems rely on algorithms and computational models to analyse large amounts of data to identify patterns or make predictions/take decisions using that pattern.

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AI’s Role in Clinical diagnosis:

- Use of AI-based techniques in diagnosis: Machine and deep learning models in successful early diagnosis of critical diseases such as cancer, cardiac arrhythmias, predict stroke outcomes etc.
- Assistance in Medical imaging: X-Rays, CT scans, MRIs to detect abnormalities or other signs of diseases with high accuracy.
- Use of algorithms to analyse patient medical records: To identify patterns and predict diseases.

Robotic process automation: They are used for repetitive tasks like prior authorisation, updating patient records or billing.

AI supporting in course of action after diagnosis: Focus specifically on diagnosis and treatment recommendations for certain cancers based on their genetic profiles.

[Quote data of AI Healthcare Market 2019-2025 report which estimates that AI in the Indian healthcare industry is estimated to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 50.9%].

Implications on Privacy of an individual:

- AI systems rely on vast data to train algorithms and improve performance which include personal information, so collection and processing of such data raises concerns.
- Data Exploitation:
  - Data Breach and unauthorized access through hacking also raises concerns over the privacy.
  - With the recognition systems (biometric), law enforcement can easily find people without giving people a reason to be suspicious.

Unregulated Use:

- Many wearable devices constantly monitor an individual’s health data which is in hands of large tech companies with access to AI.
- Many third party devices are also available for cheap prices with no regulation on data collections.
- Attackers can transform data into a weapon by using AI as a misinformation tool.
The Digital India Act (DIA) is under draft stage which ensures that AI platforms are liable in case of harm to the users in the health sector.
- Whereas European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives their citizens more control over their personal data.

Conclusion:

There is a need to regulate the use of collected health related data. To achieve this, ICMR has also released the Ethical Guidelines for Application of AI in Biomedical Research and Health Care, which outlines 10 key patient-centric ethical principles for Artificial Intelligence (AI) application in the health sector.

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