A context-specific analysis of ethical principles relevant for AI-assisted decision-making in health care

Abstract

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies may exert a profound impact on social structures and practices in care contexts. Our study aimed to complement ethical principles considered relevant for the design of AI-assisted technology in health care with a context-specific conceptualization of the principles from the perspectives of individuals potentially affected by the implementation of AI technologies in nursing care. We conducted scenario-based semistructured interviews focusing on situations involving moral decision-making occurring in everyday nursing practice with nurses ( N = 15) and care recipients ( N = 13) working, respectively, living in long-term care facilities in Germany. First, we analyzed participants’ concepts of the ethical principles beneficence, respect for autonomy and justice. Second, we investigated participants’ expectations regarding the actualization of these concepts within the context of AI-assisted decision-making. The results underscore the importance of a context-specific conceptualization of ethical principles for overcoming epistemic uncertainty regarding the risks and opportunities associated with the (non)fulfillment of these ethical principles. Moreover, our findings provide indications regarding which concepts of the investigated ethical principles ought to receive extra attention when designing AI technologies to ensure that these technologies incorporate the moral interests of stakeholders in the care sector.

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