“This moment presents a unique opportunity for the health care community … to act collectively and with intention to design the future in the era of AI.”
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health, medicine, and research is rapidly expanding, creating new opportunities and avenues for research and care. While AI holds immense promise for revolutionizing health care and improving health outcomes, it is not without significant risk. Using these technologies requires careful assessment and stewardship to prevent harm. A new NAM Perspectives Commentary outlines a draft framework for achieving accurate, safe, reliable, and ethical AI advancements that can transform health, health care, and biomedical science.
In “,” the paper’s editors explore strategies to responsibly implement AI advancements to achieve profound benefits in health and health care throughout the United States. Based on an extensive review of existing literature surrounding AI guidelines, frameworks, and principles, the editors identify a series of ten Code Principles and six Code Commitments to ensure that best practices maximize AI’s benefits to maximize human health and well-being while minimizing potential risks. The Code Principles promote responsible behavior in AI development, use, and ongoing assessment; they are based on the Leadership Consortium’s Learning Health System Core Principles. The Code Commitments support the careful application of these Principles in practice, serving as guidelines when dealing with complex systems.
“The promise of AI technologies to transform health and health care is tremendous, but there is concern that their improper use can have harmful effects. There is a pressing need for establishing principles, guidelines, and safeguards for the use of AI in health care,” said NAM President Victor J. Dzau. “The new draft code of conduct framework is an important step toward creating a path forward to safely reap the benefits of improved health outcomes and medical breakthroughs possible through responsible use of AI.”
The new commentary was developed by the NAM’s AI Code of Conduct initiative, under the auspices of an expert stakeholder Steering Committee. This publication represents a milestone toward the initiative’s goal to provide a guiding framework for ensuring that AI algorithms and their applications in health perform responsibly in the service of better health for all.
“This new framework puts us on the path to safe, effective, and ethical use of AI, as its transformational potential is put to use in health and medicine,” said NAM Executive Officer Michael McGinnis. “It serves as a foundational reference for continuous learning, alignment, and improvement in our health system.”
Share input on responsible and equitable AI use
“As we stand at the cusp of a health care revolution, the collective wisdom of our nation’s experts is our guiding star,” stated Peter Lee, Steering Committee Member and President of Microsoft Research. “With the release of this draft, we invite contributions that will not only refine the framework but do so in a way that helps steer the accelerating integration of AI in health care. Such advancements are pivotal in surmounting the barriers we face in U.S. health care today, ensuring a healthier tomorrow for all.”
The NAM Leadership Consortium is seeking input from stakeholders on the Code Principles and Commitments to ensure responsible and equitable use of AI in health, health care, and biomedical science. Share your experiences and feedback to help identify opportunities for improvement and innovation.
911 the Artificial Intelligence Code of Conduct initiative
In January 2023, the NAM partnered with a group of leading health, bioethics, equity, tech, patient advocacy, and research organizations to develop an Artificial Intelligence Code of Conduct initiative to describe the national architecture required to give rise to and support equitable and responsible use of AI in health, medical care, and health research. Stewarded by the NAM Leadership Consortium, the initiative was launched as a direct response to the growing call for a harmonized set of AI guidelines that can facilitate interoperable governance standards for its development and application. Learn more about the initiative.
