The KAIST Korea Policy Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (KPC4IR) published a guide entitled “Using AI to Support Healthcare Decisions: A Guide for Society” through international collaboration with experts from the UK and Singapore.

Artificial intelligence technology is spreading in all areas, including the economy, industry, society, and culture, creating enormous added value and convenience in life. At the same time, technological risks such as the misuse and abuse of AI technology and bias in algorithms (data) are also emerging as important issues at present. Moreover, social interest in the feasibility and safety of artificial intelligence technology in healthcare has increased due to COVID-19. This guide is expected to have a ripple effect on the whole of society, including citizens, medical workers, and policymakers.

The guide contains domestic and international examples of AI technology applications in which AI technology increases the effectiveness of medical image analysis and diagnostic procedures while also reducing the time required for clinical decision-making and drug development using big data and disease predictions. Focusing on reliability, which is the most important factor related to the utilization of AI technology, the guide points out the problem of the fairness of AI caused by data quality and data variables. The requirement to secure the accuracy of AI technology in treatment or clinical decision-making is also emphasized. Artificial intelligence technology has the potential to create innovation in the medical services and directly affect medical decision-making, meaning that it is important for the general public to increase their understanding of artificial intelligence technology and to recognize the limitations and improvements of artificial intelligence technology.

For this guide, global joint research results were derived through consultations, interviews, and workshops with a number of experts in industry and academia and researchers from the Bio Brain Engineering and Graduate School of AI at KAIST, the Science and Technology Policy Institute, the Korea Information Society Development Institute, Asan Medical Center, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, and an AI solution company, Vuno, in Korea in addition to experts from Singapore and the UK.

“We focused on the ‘reliability’ of AI applications in the healthcare sector to make all data well represented at a good quality level. This technology will eventually transform to better serve new demands by people, and the guide will help both developers and people to understand appropriate technology applications,” says Director So Young Kim at the KPC4IR. Using AI to Support Healthcare Decisions: A Guide for Society is available in Korean and English and can be downloaded from the homepages of the Korea 4th Industrial Revolution Policy Center (https://kpc4ir.kaist.ac.kr) and the Institute for Public Understanding at the University of Singapore (https://ipur.nus.edu.sg).