Research ethics and artificial intelligence for global health: perspectives from the global forum on bioethics in research

James Shaw; Joseph Ali; Caesar A Atuire; Phaik Yeong Cheah; Armando Guio Español; Judy Wawira Gichoya; Adrienne Hunt; Daudi Jjingo; Katherine Littler; Daniela Paolotti; Effy Vayena

doi:10.1186/s12910-024-01044-w

Research ethics and artificial intelligence for global health: perspectives from the global forum on bioethics in research

BMC Med Ethics. 2024 Apr 18;25(1):46. doi: 10.1186/s12910-024-01044-w.

Authors

James Shaw^{1

2}, Joseph Ali^{3

4}, Caesar A Atuire^{5

6}, Phaik Yeong Cheah⁷, Armando Guio Español⁸, Judy Wawira Gichoya⁹, Adrienne Hunt¹⁰, Daudi Jjingo¹¹, Katherine Littler¹⁰, Daniela Paolotti¹², Effy Vayena¹³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Jay.shaw@utoronto.ca.
² Joint Centre for Bioethics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Jay.shaw@utoronto.ca.
³ Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁴ Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁵ Department of Philosophy and Classics, University of Ghana, Legon-Accra, Ghana.
⁶ Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁷ Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
⁸ Berkman Klein Center, Harvard University, Bogotá, Colombia.
⁹ Department of Radiology and Informatics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹⁰ Health Ethics & Governance Unit, Research for Health Department, Science Division, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹¹ African Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Data Intensive Science, Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
¹² ISI Foundation, Turin, Italy.
¹³ Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.

Abstract

Background: The ethical governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care and public health continues to be an urgent issue for attention in policy, research, and practice. In this paper we report on central themes related to challenges and strategies for promoting ethics in research involving AI in global health, arising from the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research (GFBR), held in Cape Town, South Africa in November 2022.

Methods: The GFBR is an annual meeting organized by the World Health Organization and supported by the Wellcome Trust, the US National Institutes of Health, the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the South African MRC. The forum aims to bring together ethicists, researchers, policymakers, research ethics committee members and other actors to engage with challenges and opportunities specifically related to research ethics. In 2022 the focus of the GFBR was "Ethics of AI in Global Health Research". The forum consisted of 6 case study presentations, 16 governance presentations, and a series of small group and large group discussions. A total of 87 participants attended the forum from 31 countries around the world, representing disciplines of bioethics, AI, health policy, health professional practice, research funding, and bioinformatics. In this paper, we highlight central insights arising from GFBR 2022.

Results: We describe the significance of four thematic insights arising from the forum: (1) Appropriateness of building AI, (2) Transferability of AI systems, (3) Accountability for AI decision-making and outcomes, and (4) Individual consent. We then describe eight recommendations for governance leaders to enhance the ethical governance of AI in global health research, addressing issues such as AI impact assessments, environmental values, and fair partnerships.

Conclusions: The 2022 Global Forum on Bioethics in Research illustrated several innovations in ethical governance of AI for global health research, as well as several areas in need of urgent attention internationally. This summary is intended to inform international and domestic efforts to strengthen research ethics and support the evolution of governance leadership to meet the demands of AI in global health research.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Bioethics; Global health; Machine learning; Research ethics.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Artificial Intelligence*
Bioethics*
Ethics, Research
Global Health
Humans
South Africa

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding