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Journal Article

Citation

Stickley T. Perspect. Public Health 2023; 143(4): 182-183.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Royal Society for Public Health, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/17579139231191897

PMID

37589325

Abstract

Like me, you may have been imagining the potential impact that artificial intelligence (AI) might have on public health in the future. Rather than writing about my speculations, I thought it best to ask ChatGPT about the risks and the benefits of AI in public health. I was given some interesting advice.

First, the benefits (in 250 words):
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize public health in several ways. Here are some of the benefits of AI in public health:
Disease Detection and Diagnosis: AI can analyze vast amounts of data from medical records, images, and lab reports to detect patterns and identify potential diseases at an early stage. This can help healthcare providers make more accurate diagnoses and improve treatment outcomes.
Personalized Medicine: AI can use patient-specific data to create personalized treatment plans that are tailored to the individual's unique needs. This can lead to better health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs.
Predictive Analytics: AI can analyze large datasets to identify patterns and predict disease outbreaks or other health-related events. This can help public health officials take proactive measures to prevent the spread of diseases and protect the population.
Drug Discovery: AI can help accelerate the drug discovery process by analyzing vast amounts of data and identifying potential drug candidates. This can reduce the time and cost of developing new drugs and improve the overall success rate of drug development.
Remote Patient Monitoring: AI can monitor patient data remotely and alert healthcare providers to potential issues before they become more serious. This can improve patient outcomes and reduce hospital readmissions.
Overall, AI has the potential to transform public health by improving disease detection and diagnosis, creating personalized treatment plans, predicting disease outbreaks, accelerating drug discovery, and enabling remote patient monitoring. As AI technology continues to advance, its potential impact on public health will only continue to grow.
I then asked of the potential dangers of AI to public health (in 250 words) and here is the result:

In order to mitigate the dangers of AI in public health, several steps can be taken. First and foremost, it is crucial to ensure that AI algorithms are developed and trained on diverse and representative datasets. This will help to reduce the risk of algorithmic bias and ensure that AI systems are accurate and effective for all patients, regardless of their race, gender, or other factors.
Secondly, it is essential to implement strong privacy protections for patient data. This can include measures such as data encryption, access controls, and auditing to ensure that patient data is kept secure and only accessed by authorized personnel. Additionally, patients should have the right to control their own data and to decide who has access to it.
Thirdly, it is important to establish clear ethical guidelines for the development and use of AI in healthcare. This can include guidelines around transparency, fairness, and accountability, as well as guidelines for the use of AI in areas such as diagnosis, treatment, and research.
Fourthly, healthcare providers should be trained to understand the limitations and potential biases of AI systems. This will help to ensure that they use AI tools appropriately and do not rely too heavily on AI for critical decisions.
Finally, policymakers and healthcare leaders should work together to address the potential economic impacts of AI on healthcare jobs. This could involve investing in retraining programs for healthcare workers or developing new job opportunities in areas such as AI development and implementation.
Overall, while there are dangers associated with the use of AI in public health, these risks can be mitigated through careful planning, ethical guidelines, and strong privacy protections. By using AI responsibly and in conjunction with other interventions, we can harness the power of AI to improve healthcare outcomes for all patients.

I will leave you to evaluate the merit of these results created by a very well-informed robot. I imagine the answers will become more sophisticated as the technology develops. ...


Language: en

Keywords

Humans; *Artificial Intelligence; *Public Health

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