New WISH report to focus on the ethical management of AI in healthcare

Upcoming report on Ethics of AI in Healthcare announced during panel discussion at the 17^th World Congress of Bioethics in Doha

5 June 2024. Doha, Qatar – The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF), has announced that it is to publish a report on the Ethics of AI in healthcare, exploring some of the most widely adopted practices of AI in healthcare and emphasizing the associated ethical challenges, particularly as they relate to the question of medical accountability.

The report will be published ahead of WISH 2024, which takes place this year on 13-14 November at the Qatar National Convention Centre, Doha, and will form the basis of discussions at the November event around the ethical implications of an increase in the use of AI in healthcare. While ethical considerations in general will feature in the report, particular emphasis will be given to exploring the relationship between AI and healthcare from an Islamic perspective.

Dr. Mohammed Ghaly, Professor of Islam and Biomedical Ethics and Head of the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE) College of Islamic Studies (CIS), at QF’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), will act as lead author of the report. Speaking at a panel discussion at the 17^th World Congress of Bioethics in Doha, Qatar on The Role of Ethics in AI-Driven Healthcare, he confirmed that AI in healthcare will be one of the main topics featured at WISH 2024 and announced the new report.

Dr. Ghaly said: “Both secular and religious moral traditions need to grapple with serious ethical challenges surrounding the use of AI in healthcare, including unequal access to this technology, privacy and data protection, obtaining informed consent, and how these elements would relate to the long-held set of values and etiquettes governing the patient-physician relationship.

“At the very center is the question of accountability: who bears responsibility for errors when AI systems increasingly influence clinical decisions and patient outcomes? Our report will provide policy recommendations for how we can address these concerns, which influence the ethical deliberations on the patient-physician relationship in the age of AI-enabled healthcare.”

The application of AI in healthcare has fundamentally revolutionized the medical landscape, impacting areas such as electronic medical records (EMR), imaging, laboratory diagnostics, treatment methodologies, drug discovery, the provision of preventative and precision medicine and the extensive analysis of biological data. Despite the significant progress in integrating AI into healthcare practices, there are many challenges to the ethical management of these technologies. This issue of accountability is also compounded by the complexity and opacity of AI algorithms, which can obscure the decision-making process and diffuse blame.

Maha El Akoum, Manager of Policy and Content at WISH, said: “As adoption of AI in healthcare continues at pace, how we regulate it to ensure medical practice remains ethical and equitable becomes crucial. WISH is therefore taking a leading role, working with our colleagues at HBKU, to address this pressing issue, which is essential to fostering trust and ensuring ethical integrity. We very much look forward to publishing the report ahead of WISH 2024 and to the valuable discussions that the report will prompt at our November summit.”

Photos from the meeting are available.

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Notes for editors

About the World Innovation Summit for Health

The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) is a global healthcare community dedicated to capturing and disseminating the best evidence-based ideas and practices. WISH is an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and is under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, its Chairperson.

The inaugural WISH Summit took place in Doha in 2013 and convened more than 1,000 global healthcare leaders. Through international summits and a range of ongoing initiatives, WISH is creating a global community of leading Innovators in healthcare policy, research, and industry.

Together, they are harnessing the power of innovation to overcome the world’s most urgent healthcare challenges and inspire other stakeholders to action.

Qatar Foundation – Unlocking Human Potential

Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) is a non-profit organization that supports Qatar on its journey to becoming a diversified and sustainable economy. QF strives to serve the people of Qatar and beyond by providing specialized programs across its innovation-focused ecosystem of education, research and development, and community development.

QF was founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Amir, and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, who shared the vision to provide Qatar with quality education. Today, QF’s world-class education system offers lifelong learning opportunities to community members as young as six months through to doctoral level, enabling graduates to thrive in a global environment and contribute to the nation’s development.

QF is also creating a multidisciplinary innovation hub in Qatar, where homegrown researchers are working to address local and global challenges. By promoting a culture of lifelong learning and fostering social engagement through programs that embody Qatari culture, QF is committed to empowering the local community and contributing to a better world for all.

For a complete list of QF’s initiatives and projects, please visit: www.qf.org.qa. 

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