The Present and Future of AI: Ethical Issues and Research Opportunities

Healthcare is currently a fast-changing industry with AI and generative AI (GenAI) playing a prominent role in the transformation of clinical as well as managerial practices. Clinical practices involve AI to diagnose diseases and develop new drugs and compounds, while managerial practices concern AI-supporting processes such as billing patients and insurance companies, handling electronic medical records, and supporting remote connections with patients, increasingly using virtual and augmented reality. Yet, all these opportunities offered by AI come with challenges involving potential ethical issues, such as discrimination, bias, lack of accessibility, and privacy issues. In March 2024, we organized a panel with healthcare experts, attended by 48 academics and practitioners, and discussed the innovative power of AI, along with its ethical concerns and in doing so, we attempted to address some of these concerns. This panel report summarizes key findings and outlines a research agenda for IS scholars engaged in health-IT research specifically examining the new frontiers of AI and GenAI.