Beyond Deficit Models: Rethinking Public Engagement in Empirical Bioethics Research About Healthcare AI
Emma Frost`1, Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values, University Of Wollongong 1Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values, University Of Wollongong
Abstract
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) applications into healthcare systems is progressing at a rapid pace. AI’s potential benefits, as well as its potential risks, are at the forefront of public discourse. Empirical bioethics scholars have pointed to the importance of engaging with members of the public on challenging bioethics issues; such engagement encourages consideration of alternative and embodied perspectives and can give insight into nondominant and marginalised views on healthcare technologies. Understanding public views on healthcare AI is an important step toward guiding AI innovation in responsible directions.
In this presentation, I will discuss results from a critical scoping review in which we examined the methodologies and outcomes of empirical research that sought public views on healthcare AI. We found that deficit models of public understanding still pervaded the field: authors often suggested that negative views and distrust toward AI amongst publics could be ‘fixed’ by strategies such as broader-reaching education schemes. I will argue that empirical bioethics researchers looking to do research with publics on healthcare AI must engage with the challenge of designing methods which empower participants to contribute their values and knowledges to discussions on healthcare AI. Effective engagement with publics can complement existing bioethics approaches to understanding how AI should be regulated.
Biography
Emma Frost is a PhD candidate at the Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values at the University of Wollongong. Her work focusses on artificial intelligence in healthcare, and the challenge of engaging members of the public in empirical research on speculative healthcare topics.