NHS England are set to pilot a new approach to improve ethical adoption of AI in healthcare.
The pilot will be a world-first in Algorithmic Impact Assessment (AIA) within healthcare and will ensure potential risks are addressed before they can access NHS data.
The AIA will help to support researchers and developers to asses risks and biases of AI systems to patients before they can access any NHS data.
Artificial Intelligence has begun to play a large role within the healthcare system and so far has helped to support health and care workers to deliver better patient care.
Despite its benefits, AI could cause health inequalities to become heightened if concerns such as algorithmic bias are not accounted for.
Lord Kamall, Innovation Minister said: “While AI has great potential to transform health and care services, we must tackle biases which have the potential to do further harm to some populations as part of our mission to eradicate health disparities”.
“This pilot once again demonstrates the UK is at the forefront of adopting new technologies in a way that is ethical and patient-centred.
“By allowing us to proactively address risks and biases in systems which will underpin the health and care of the future, we are ensuring we create a system of healthcare which works for everyone, no matter who you are or where you are from”.
Ethics teams at the NHS AI lab are currently working to ensure that databases for training and testing AI systems are diverse and inclusive, with the aim to create better health outcomes for everyone, particularly in minority groups.
An AI Ethics Initiative to support research and practical interventions have been introduced by the NHS AI lab to help evaluate and regulate AI-driven tech in healthcare.
AIA is hoped to increase the transparency and legitimacy of the artificial intelligence used within health care settings.
Brhmie Balaram, Head of AI Research & Ethics at the NHS AI Lab, said: “Building trust in the use of AI technologies for screening and diagnosis is fundamental if the NHS is to realise the benefits of AI.
“Through this pilot, we hope to demonstrate the value of supporting developers to meaningfully engage with patients and healthcare professionals much earlier in the process of bringing an AI system to market.
“The algorithmic impact assessment will prompt developers to explore and address the legal, social and ethical implications of their proposed AI systems as a condition of accessing NHS data. We anticipate that this will lead to improvements in AI systems and assure patients that their data is being used responsibly and for the public good”
