Responsible AI in Medicine in Times of War – Samueli Responsible AI in Medicine Initiative Seminar – December 2023

At the Samueli Responsible AI in Medicine Initiative Seminar at Tel Aviv University, held on December 20, 2023, the discussion focused on Responsible AI in Medicine in Times of War (Operation Iron Swords).

Dr. Oren Asman, Head of the Initiative and Senior Faculty Member in the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, opened the seminar with an overview of responsible AI in medicine: its potential and risks. He presented an example of a mental health AI project developed in response to the war and raised the question of whether, in such times, different balances should be struck regarding the development and adoption of AI-based technologies in medicine.

Ms. Esti Sheli from the Ministry of Health’s Digital Health Division provided a regulator’s perspective. She addressed the balance between encouraging new ventures — including early-stage companies — and adopting their technologies while research validity and regulatory requirements are still under review. She also noted cases where some oversight and testing might occur post-deployment in urgent situations, aiming to meet acute needs while maintaining safety and efficacy standards.

Prof. Ran Balicer, Deputy CEO and Head of Innovation at Clalit Health Services and a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Body on AI, reflected on the COVID-19 experience, which demonstrated the feasibility of developing and accelerating AI-based processes in healthcare during crises. He discussed the potential for simultaneously expediting innovation without bypassing or suspending standard regulatory requirements and highlighted how easing certain barriers could maximize Israel’s expertise and leadership in these areas to benefit patients and the public worldwide.

Dr. Alona Barnea addressed key risk management criteria for evaluating new technologies, distinguishing between development pace and adoption pace, and the transfer of technologies from defense to medical applications and vice versa.

Dr. Tomer Simon, Chief Scientist for Research and Development at Microsoft Israel, spoke about the democratization of information — underscored in 2023 by the free or low-cost availability of large language models to the public — and the ways these tools can already help reduce workload in the healthcare system. He also noted that the current regulatory framework does allow for adoption of such tools, and that some barriers stem from hesitant implementation of legal counsel guidelines and avoidance of more permissive interpretations of existing law.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDOEbfgo83s