Last Thursday, November 4, Sunset Technologies held its first round table on a topic as interesting as it is necessary: ​​ethics in the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

The event was a great success, which encourages us to continue organizing new “stops to reflect” in 2022. Because if there is something that Sunset Technologies has always had in mind, in its long history as a technology company dedicated to the health sector, it is ethics. As we advance technologically, there is always a moment when we must pause to ask ourselves:

  • Why are we doing what we are doing?
  • Are we doing it right from an ethical point of view?

Times are turbulent and technology advances relentlessly. This combination can put us in very high-speed autopilot mode, where the focus is so much on moving forward that we lose sight of why and for what to move forward.

The objective of this first Sunset Technologies round table was to invite everyone to a stop to reflect on such important issues as privacy in the use of data, responsibility in decision-making and possible deontological changes that should be considered with the increasing use of AI in healthcare.

AI is beginning to be present in more and more areas of health, so there are questions that ask for urgent and deep reflection, not only practical and technological, but also, and above all, philosophical and transcendental:

  • How to find the delicate balance between efficacy and ethics?
  • Who sets the limits and how are they determined?
  • Does the advance have a price in terms of human quality?

The debate was moderated by the Girona philosopher Josep Mª Carbó and the composition of the table was of an extraordinary quality, both in terms of curriculum and experience in the issues debated as well as human. It was what is said “a luxury cast”:

  • Francisco Javier Díez, professor in the Department of Artificial Intelligence at UNED, with more than 30 years of experience in research on the application of AI to medicine.
  • Joan Guanyabens, medical consultant at TICSalut; independent consultant in health, IT and innovation, and academic co-director in master’s degree in Health Big Data.
  • Josep Maria Terricabras, philosopher, professor, politician, author of several books on AI and professor of philosophy at the University of Girona.

In a cordial and relaxed atmosphere, during the two hours that the debate lasted, we were able to listen to brilliant and well-argued interventions and reflections in response to the three points raised. The goal was not to seek consensus, but to listen to different approaches and ways of addressing these issues. Like any debate of a philosophical nature, the important thing was to focus on the questions and provoke deep reflections, both in panelists and in listeners, rather than fixing answers. These are questions that cannot be closed in a single debate, but the function of the debate must be to open up new questions that we have not asked ourselves until now. Because the real breakthrough comes when we stop to ask questions!

Even so, among the panelists a certain consensus was reached on some issues, such as:

  • AI should not, under any circumstances, replace the health professional, so the ultimate responsibility for decisions, even if they are supported by AI, rests with the professional.
  • AI should be considered a tool at the service of the professional.
  • Personal data is the property of the patient, but can be used to serve a common good, as long as they are duly anonymized and are only used for common good purposes and never against the person.

However, what was really interesting was not the consensus but the arguments and debate that is generated around the different points of view to sustain the delicate balance between efficacy and ethics.

For those who could not listen to the debate live, we provide a link to listen to the podcast.