Article
Author(s):
The 3-year project aims to set national standards for using new levels of computer learning in health care.
A new committee will draft best practices for physicians to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into health care.
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced it will convene a group to develop an “Artificial Intelligence Code of Conduct” (AICC) to describe the role of AI in health, medical care, and research. AI “is poised for a profound impact throughout the health field,” and physicians and other clinicians need a set of governance standards to develop and apply it.
“The goal is that the Code and national health care AI architecture be widely adopted, translated for implementation by various stakeholders, and continuously improved to realize AI’s enormous promise,” according to NAM.
“Involving these accomplished national leaders from across the US is essential for creation of a harmonized, broadly adopted AI Code of Conduct, as well as for development of the national architecture that promotes the equitable and responsible use of AI,” NAM Executive Officer and Senior Scholar Michael McGinnis, MD, MA, MPP, said in a news release. “This collaborative effort will help ensure that the application of health AI is based on the best science, and is consistent with ethical principles and societal values in pursuit of effectiveness, efficiency, and equity for all members of society.”
The committee will add to related work including the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI), according to NAM. CHAI is a collaborative group of academic, medical, and technological researchers examining AI with several federal agencies. In April, CHAI published its “Blueprint for Trustworthy AI Implementation Guidance and Assurance for Healthcare,” a report on evaluating AI technologies and using them responsibly.
NAM is planning a three-year project to start this summer with an in-person steering committee meeting. Quarterly webinars will follow, ending in winter 2025.
The availability of the program ChatGPT, created by OpenAI, has sparked huge public interest in artificial intelligence and how it will affect medicine and other aspects of work and life.
The NAM committee will address issues of privacy, ethics, equity, accountability, and applicability in at least two forms of AI.
NAM aims to address large language models (LLMs) AI programs that generate answers to user inquiries. ChatGPT is an LLM that gained popularity in part due to its ability to generate human-like textual answers to user questions.
The new AICC also will address predictive AI programs and models that identify patients at risk of developing certain conditions and likely outcomes of treatment plans, according to NAM.
The committee members are:
[This article was originally published by our sister brand, Medical Economics.]