After the Pope warned that artificial intelligence risks eroding personal bonds in medicine, we consulted experts and heard how, in many cases, AI is already helping to strengthen bonds.
AI is having a “far-reaching” impact on human life, especially medicine and healthcare, Pope Leo said on Monday to participants in of international meeting“AI and Healthcare: The Challenge.” of human dignity’ In Rome. He cautioned that no technology can replace the personal bond between patients and healthcare professionals, and said AI must enhance, not erode, human relationships and care.
While medical experts agree that AI cannot replace human relationships, they told Euractiv how AI is already making people’s lives easier.
According to COCIR, the European trade association representing the radiology, electromedicine and healthcare IT industries. Artificial intelligence can help clinicians detect diseases earlier, personalize treatment, and reduce routine tasks.
“This allows them to to Please focus more on your patients,” the COCIR spokesperson stressed.
save time
This argument is supported by research showing that AI tools such as voice recognition can save clinicians up to an hour per day, which can be reinvested in patient care.
Marco Marsella, Director Digital, EU4Health and Health Systems Modernization at the European Commission’s DG SANTE, said: At the European Health Forum Gastein in October, he argued that the responsible use of AI could bring a “double dividend” of improving care and strengthening Europe’s technological sovereignty.
But not all voices were optimistic about AI’s completely positive impact on healthcare.
In Gastein, Stefan Eichwalder, head of health systems at the Austrian Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, echoed Pope’s point, warning that digital tools could be a “bitter pill.” he quoted Research shows a link between the use of electronic medical records and high stress and burnout among general practitioners.: “Too often, the technologies that are supposed to support medical professionals end up undermining them,” he says.
ethical standards
Pope Leo also raised the issue of trust regarding AI.Historical events serve as a warning. The tools we have at our disposal today are even more powerful and can have an even more devastating impact on individuals and people’s lives. ”
According to him, it is It is easy to see how technology and medical research can become destructive when used to promote “anti-human ideology.”
Euractiv previously reported that far-right parties in the European Parliament often use health issues to promote their own agenda.
Industry association COCIR told Euractiv that it takes these concerns seriously.
The group says the industry is committed to ethical AI and ensuring safe and transparent devices that meet EU standards. To keep technology human-centered, they suggest dialogue among medical professionals, ethicists, policy makers, and faith leaders to ensure that “technology truly serves people.”
According to researcher Grigori Rogge, head of the Faculty of Healthcare Management and Innovation at Witten University, “The best-case scenario would be for AI to be deployed in a way that supports, rather than replaces, the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients.”
“The Pope is right,” Rogge explained, explaining that trust, care and human contact are critical to this type of medical care.
(BM, ah)
