Losing the “human element”: Patient reflections on the tensions between artificial intelligence and humanized medicine
Friday, October 13, 2023
3:15 PM – 4:30 PM ET
Location: Falkland (Fourth Floor)
Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the clinic has been accompanied by concerns of “dehumanization,” patient alienation, and reduction of medicine to algorithmic calculation. To understand the moral values and ethical considerations that contribute to patient concerns about the dehumanizing potential of AI, we conducted 15 focus groups with 87 participants to explore responses to the introduction of AI into clinical settings. In all focus groups, participants reported concerns about losing a “human element” in their medical care. Though difficult for participants to define, through thematic analysis, we found that losing the “human element” meant 1) loss of empathetic, caring interactions and communication, 2) loss of personal relationships and trust, and 3) loss of personally contextualized care. Participants described times in which preserving the “human element” was absolute (e.g., when delivering bad news). However, most saw potential improvements in accuracy via AI as a tradeoff they may be willing to make in some circumstances. When considering tradeoffs, they described a differential threshold for tolerating mistakes between humans and AIs. They also shared a variety of personal factors (e.g., distance from healthcare) that may make AI more attractive, even at expense of the “human element.” Our findings show how the “human element” has multiple meanings to patients, and that it may be perceived as vulnerable—although negotiable—as medical AI progresses. Our study is a call to incorporate AI in ways that can preserve what patients hold most dear, while also respecting what patients may flexibly embrace as technology advances.
Jordan Richardson, BS – Medical student, Alix School of Medicine, Mayo Clinic; Susan Curtis, MLIS – Biomedical Ethics Research Program – Mayo Clinic; Xuan Zhu, PhD – Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Healthcare Delivery – Mayo Clinic; Barbara Barry, PhD – Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Healthcare Delivery – Mayo Clinic; Richard Sharp, PhD – Biomedical Ethics Research Program – Mayo Clinic