Power begets responsibility, a timeless concept repeated throughout history, is an underlying thread in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) today. Accordingly, as AI and other new technologies emerge in health care, nurses must apply ethical, caring, compassion, and safety considerations to use them responsibly in practice.
“Appropriate use of AI in nursing practice supports and enhances the core values and ethical obligations of the profession. AI that appears to impede or diminish these core values and obligations must be avoided or incorporated only in such way that these values and obligations are protected,” the American Nurses Association (ANA) said in its Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Nursing Practice position statement.
Under that commission, ANA recommended that nurses:
- Ensure that advanced technologies do not compromise nursing’s innate human interactions and relationships.
- Emphasize agency, caring, and influence to anticipate and evaluate technology’s development and application in health care.
- Stay informed about AI and other emerging technologies so they can appropriately educate patients and families to support the use of AI for optimal health outcomes.
ANA described four key areas for nurses to focus on the ethical use of AI in health care:
- Methodology: Reinforce the use of high-quality data sets and validated testing. Understand the meaning—or lack thereof—of patterns and reproducibility. Ensure appropriate use and ongoing evaluation.
- Justice, fairness, and equity: Identify and mitigate bias. Balance individual and collective interests. Recognize and address exacerbation of health disparities. Prevent exploitation of data and vulnerable populations. Ensure fair access to AI. Use fair, broad data mining procedures that consider neutrality and independence. Recognize unfair profiling algorithms that can lead to discrimination in society.
- Data and informatics: Educate patients about protecting their personal data. Consider health literacy when it comes to consent. Intentionally use system design to protect patients.
- Regulatory: Contribute to the drafting and implementation of policy, legislation, and accountability systems for ethical design and practical use of AI and emerging technologies. Contribute research to develop best practices, identify negative implications, and prove the benefits of AI.
“Nurses within their respective domains need to be aware of how AI impacts their nursing processes and their patient outcomes,” ANA concluded. “Each nurse must consider how AI is integrated into their practice and be cognizant of ways it can help and hurt both individual and population health outcomes.”