The role of Open Access Data in democratizing healthcare AI: A pathway to research enhancement, patient well-being and treatment equity in Andalusia, Spain

Artificial Intelligence (AI), a transformative technology with vast potential in the field of healthcare, presents an array of opportunities for innovation, with the ability to transform medical care from diagnosis to treatment and patient monitoring [1,2]. However, one of the main concerns about AI is the issue of data bias, which refers to the distortion or unfairness that can arise from the data used to train or evaluate AI algorithms. Data bias can affect the accuracy, validity and reliability of algorithms, and can lead to discriminatory or harmful outcomes for certain groups of people [3]. Traditionally, data-driven initiatives have primarily focused on building models and optimizing accuracy, often overlooking the fundamental issue of data bias. This oversight has the potential to propagate algorithmic bias, reinforcing stereotypes and structural inequities, particularly when deployed in real-world scenarios. Thus, it is essential to recognize that many of the models published so far may inadvertently perpetuate disparities present in data sources and patient populations [4].