Artificial Intelligence’s Ambiguous Role in Combatting Health Care Disparities | Opinion [Video]

No one can deny that health inequities are a global issue. The United States, despite decades of progress, has one of the highest rates of health disparities in the world. Our health care system is deeply flawed, and we must find solutions quickly. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being heralded as a way to democratize access to health care. While the promise of AI is very real, we must temper our optimism with an awareness of the challenges this technology presents to medicine.

African Americans and other communities of color still face severe health disparities. A recent analysis by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that many Black women feel themes of medical mistrust, dismissiveness, and health care skepticism when treated in urban emergency rooms. A similar study in Canada recently reported that nearly a third of Black patients reported feelings of racial discrimination when receiving health care.