Trials to eradicate bias in healthcare AI

AIAs designed by the Ada Lovelace Institute will be piloted to support researchers and developers to assess the possible risks and biases of AI systems to patients and the public before they can access NHS data.

While artificial intelligence has the potential to support health and care workers to deliver better care for people, it could also exacerbate existing health inequalities if concerns such as algorithmic bias aren’t accounted for.

Innovation Minister Lord Kamall said: “While AI has great potential to transform health and care services, we must tackle biases which have the potential to do further harm to some populations as part of our mission to eradicate health disparities. This pilot once again demonstrates the UK is at the forefront of adopting new technologies in a way that is ethical and patient-centred.

“By allowing us to proactively address risks and biases in systems which will underpin the health and care of the future, we are ensuring we create a system of healthcare which works for everyone, no matter who you are or where you are from.”

This complements ongoing work from the ethics team at the NHS AI Lab on ensuring datasets for training and testing AI systems are diverse and inclusive. Taken together, this will result in better health outcomes for everyone, and in particular minority groups.

To ensure best practises are embedded in future technologies, the NHS will support researchers and developers to engage patients and healthcare professionals at an early stage of AI development when there is greater flexibility to make adjustments and respond to concerns. Supporting patient and public involvement as part of the development process will lead to improvements in patient experience and the clinical integration of AI.

It is hoped that in the future, AIAs could increase the transparency, accountability and legitimacy for the use of AI in healthcare.