Artificial intelligence has begun to revolutionize health care by improving efficiency, accuracy, accessibility, and outcomes; however, its use also poses risks, such as algorithmic bias and data privacy concerns. To examine how AI usage can be safe and effective, the Health and AI Working Group of The AI Equity Lab at the Brookings Center for Technology Innovation recently published a report detailing strategies to prioritize equitable health outcomes and ensure these emerging technologies will benefit all communities.
Kumba Sennaar, a PhD candidate in the health concentration at Heller, was one of 14 interdisciplinary and cross-sector health experts who were tasked with exploring key themes related to AI’s application in health and providing recommendations to ensure it is designed and deployed inclusively for underrepresented and medically vulnerable communities.
Over the course of four online convenings, the Working Group Experts (WGEs) focused on key areas, including AI opportunities and barriers related to underrepresented communities; existing legislative and regulatory policies to protect patients from harmful and unethical uses of AI; pragmatic programs and public policies to advance more inclusive AI models; and other pioneering actions and best practices to ensure responsible and ethical use of AI in health care.
Using information collected from the four sessions, the WGEs proposed strategies for policymakers and key stakeholders to engage with AI in health care and ways to meaningfully advance the design and distribution of more inclusive technologies. The paper also includes a set of questions that health and AI professionals should consider when designing, procuring, and implementing these strategies within their organizations and among patients.
“With emerging technology such as AI impacting virtually every facet of health care, engaging in co-design of health technology with end-users, interdisciplinary research, and development of policy recommendations are essential for mitigating risk and improving health outcomes,” said Sennaar.
Sennaar holds the Dr. Gloria Holmes and May H. Futrell, PhD’76, Endowed Fellowship in Health Policy. As a freelance writer, she has explored her interest in bioethics, particularly the implications of artificial intelligence in health care. Her writing has been cited by consulting firms and by journals including the Boston University Law Review, Fordham Urban Law Journal and the Harvard Data Science Review.