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AI is being introduced to many areas of expertise. Whether it be law enforcement or the media, it seems that AI has been popping up everywhere, raising concerns about whether it should be involved in these fields. One of these fields is in healthcare. As a medical assistant in the healthcare industry, I have seen how AI is being introduced to doctors' offices. What interests me the most is how patients and healthcare providers would perceive AI being integrated into their lives.

In this assignment, I'll cover how AI is already being utilized in the healthcare field and where it may take us in the future.

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AI has multiple applications in healthcare, one of which is decision-making. Medical professionals have utilized AI to aid in determining a proper diagnosis for patients through programs known as "clinical decision support systems." these systems "are currently under development to assist clinicians with their decision-making based on prior successful diagnoses, treatment, and prognostication" (ref 1). The benefits include offering professionals an additional perspective to guide them to the right path. The only issue with this is that the AI's decision may be incorrect or biased, as this technology is not yet perfected.

What interested me the most about this is how it could affect patient care. it would make the process much easier to get to the conclusion, along with ensuring to the providers to check every possible diagnosis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Rm1eZpGNQ

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Another way AI has impacted healthcare is by providing access in underserved communities and lower-income countries. Such accesses include "AI-assisted ultrasound services... Diagnosis of eye and skin conditions from afar using AI image interpretation... screening of chest radiographs for tuberculosis, ultrasound for pregnant women to assess neonatal development, and more." (ref 2). Each of these services could benefit those who do not have access to these opportunities on their own. The only challenges this may face are the quality of these services and their cost, particularly given how expensive these resources can be for specific countries and how inaccurate these AI systems may be compared between countries.

I believe AI's ability to expand healthcare access in developing countries has one of the most significant benefits. It could bridge gaps where doctors are scarce, providing basic care and early detection. AI can be a helpful tool as long as the systems are accurate, culturally sensitive, and built with input from the country itself.

https://youtu.be/-G28LkbfhB8?si=MNg22XxOjt4CMZqQ

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AI has also been used in surgeries in the healthcare field-- specifically, robotic surgery. Using technology such as computer vision and machine learning, surgical robots and AI-assisted systems analyze visual data to help with the surgeon's precision. It helps perform minimally invasive procedures with improved accuracy, smaller incisions, and faster recovery for patients post-surgery. However, specific concerns have arisen alongside robotic surgery, such as ethical complications. "In traditional surgery, the responsibility for patient outcomes lies directly with the surgeon. However, robotic systems introduce an intermediary, the robot itself, between the surgeon and patient, complicating the question of liability" (ref 3).

This interests me because of the benefits it provides to ensure the surgery process goes smoothly. It could make things much easier for everyone without completely taking over essential jobs, such as those of surgeons.

https://youtu.be/_fTq59kADrU?si=CmL1DgVHQOusLy6n

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Future trends and Ethical considerations

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Future trends and Ethical considerations

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Seeing how AI has already revolutionized healthcare, it is clear that AI will continue to develop in the future. These types of developments may include AI-driven monitoring of patient vitals, predictive analytics for disease outbreaks, and automated imaging analysis using computer vision. These could all help with faster, more accurate care and even reduce human error.

But when it comes to advancements, one particular construct to consider is ethics. Issues such as fairness, transparency, privacy, and accountability must be prioritized. "Alongside the growing interest in the potential of AI to transform healthcare, the past five or so years have seen the development of various guidelines for the ethical use of AI, as well as a handful focused on AI in healthcare specifically... Almost no guidelines talk about AI in contexts of care, nurture, help, welfare, social responsibility, or ecological networks” (ref 4). This highlights the gap between high-level ethical principles and the real-world social impacts of AI in healthcare.

From my perspective, balancing innovation and ethics is essential to evolve. While AI can enhance efficiency and treatment quality, it won't get far if there are no ethical considerations. It can cause issues such as undermining public confidence, bias and discrimination, privacy violations, and other related problems. For the healthcare industry to use AI to its highest potential without little risks, ethical considerations are crucial.

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Along with ethical issues, another primary concern with AI in healthcare is social impact. It could affect employment: "AI will have a considerable disruptive effect on work, with some jobs being lost, others being created, and others changing." (ref 5). especially since AI can take over repetitive tasks like reading scans, filling out forms, or data entry. Some jobs will disappear, and new ones can arise, causing a change in the job market not just in healthcare but across all fields.

Privacy is also a concern, given that healthcare data includes deeply personal information such as medical history, imaging, and testing. If this data is leaked or misused, patients' trust will suffer.

Equity is another challenge. It isn't much of a surprise that AI is mainly trained on data from rich or majority groups, but this leads to poor performance for minorities and underrepresented communities. This worsens existing inequalities in care. Moreover, poorer or rural health systems may lack the resources to adopt AI.

On a personal level, these trade-offs make me view AI in healthcare as both hopeful and cautionary. On one hand, AI offers many benefits—it can improve diagnosis, speed up care, and reduce the workload for healthcare workers. However, the potential risks to society, such as job loss, privacy breaches, and biased decision-making, could outweigh those advantages if not managed properly. With careful regulation and ethical use, AI could become a powerful tool that helps people rather than harms them.

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Overall, AI is a handy tool in the healthcare industry. There were numerous resources available for my research in AI healthcare, and all of them were highly informative. During my research on the impact of AI in healthcare, I learned how deeply technology influences both medical practice and society, in both positive and negative ways. Specific issues of AI still make me wary of it, but healthcare can certainly evolve with the help of AI. Although there are challenges to overcome, such as ensuring patient privacy and addressing ethical concerns, I believe that the integration of AI will ultimately lead to a more efficient, effective, and accessible healthcare system.

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I apologize for not having the video on here. Padlet doesn't let me record longer than 2 minutes or add a separate video because it exceeds a certain amount of MB. The video will be provided separately on Brightspace. Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience.

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References

1. Li, J., & Xu, W. (2019). Artificial intelligence applications in the healthcare sector: A study of research trends. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 12(4), 311–318. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41649-019-00096-0
Rationale: I chose this source because it provides a clear overview of how AI is currently applied in healthcare and identifies trends that show where the technology is heading.

2. Ehsan, U., & Riedl, M. O. (2021). Human-centered explainable AI (XAI): From algorithms to applications. In Explainable AI: Interpreting, Explaining and Visualizing Deep Learning (pp. 3–31). Springer. https://research-ebsco-com.proxy.library.stonybrook.edu/c/7tjnwz/ebook-viewer/pdf/rp6r4fe5db/section/lp_5
Rationale: This source was selected because it explains the importance of transparency and interpretability in AI systems, which is key to maintaining trust in healthcare applications.

3. Takata, T., & Tanaka, K. (2025). The role of artificial intelligence in robotic surgery: Current progress and future directions. Journal of Robotic Surgery, 19(2), 215–226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11701-025-02702-w
Rationale: I used this article to understand how AI is transforming surgical practices and to explore both its benefits and limitations in clinical settings.

4. Challen, R., Denny, J., Pitt, M., Gompels, L., Edwards, T., & Tsaneva-Atanasova, K. (2023). Artificial intelligence, bias and clinical safety. BMJ Health & Care Informatics, 30(1), e100146. https://search.library.stonybrook.edu/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=cdi_pubmedcentral_primary_oai_pubmedcentral_nih_gov_9705474
Rationale: This article was chosen because it highlights the ethical and safety challenges of AI in healthcare, particularly how bias can affect patient outcomes.

5. Royal Society. (2024). Artificial intelligence and work: Evidence synthesis. Royal Society Open Science, 11(6), 241873. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.241873
Rationale: I included this source because it offers an authoritative discussion on how AI affects employment and equity, which helped inform my understanding of AI’s societal impact.