Council of Europe: new report on the impact of artificial intelligence on the doctor-patient relationship

The Council of Europe’s Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO) has issued a new report on the impact of artificial intelligence on the doctor-patient relationship.

The report looks into AI systems and focuses on the relationship between doctor and patient in relation to the human rights principles provided in the European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (“Oviedo Convention”). The report investigates the potential human rights impact of AI according to six themes: (1) Inequality in access to high quality healthcare; (2) Transparency to health professionals and patients; (3) Risk of social bias in AI systems; (4) Dilution of the patient’s account of well-being; (5) Risk of automation bias, deskilling, and displaced liability; and (6) Impact on the right to privacy.

The report was prepared within the framework of the Strategic Action Plan on Human Rights and Technologies in Biomedicine (2020-2025) and contributes to the future work of the Council of Europe work on AI in healthcare.