Addressing ethical and safety issues in AI innovation

Responding to rapid advances in artificial intelligence and the urgent need to define its responsible use in health and medicine, Stanford Medicine and the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) today announced the launch of RAISE-Health (Responsible AI for Safe and Equitable Health). This pioneering initiative seeks to address critical ethical and safety issues surrounding AI innovation and help others navigate this complex and evolving field.

Co-led by Stanford School of Medicine dean Lloyd Minor, MD, and Stanford HAI co-director and computer science professor Fei-Fei Li, PhD, the new initiative will establish a go-to platform for responsible AI in health and medicine; define a structured framework for ethical standards and safeguards; and regularly convene a diverse group of multidisciplinary innovators, experts and decision makers on the topic.

Both awareness of AI and skepticism about its use in health care have skyrocketed in the last 12 months. According to a recent Pew survey, a majority of Americans said they would be uncomfortable with their provider using AI in their own health care, underscoring the crossroads at which society finds itself.

AI has the potential to impact every aspect of health and medicine. We have to act with urgency to ensure that this technology advances in line with the interests of everyone, from the research bench to the patient bedside and beyond."

Lloyd Minor, Dean, Stanford School of Medicine

Goals of the RAISE-Health initiative include enhancing clinical care outcomes through responsible integration of AI; accelerating research to solve the biggest challenges in health and medicine; and educating patients, care providers and researchers to navigate AI advances.

"AI is evolving at an incredible pace; so, too, must our capacity to manage, navigate and direct its path," said Li, whose research includes a focus on ambient intelligence -; using AI to monitor and respond to human activity in homes, hospitals and other environments. "Through this initiative, we are seeking to engage our students, our faculty and the broader community to help shape the future of AI, ensuring it reflects the interests of all stakeholders -; patients, families and society at large."

Building on the goals of Stanford HAI, groundbreaking Stanford faculty research and ongoing collaborations with policymakers and Silicon Valley innovators, RAISE-Health will be a trusted repository for the AI work being done at Stanford University, Stanford Medicine and well beyond -; hosting standards, tools, models, data, research and best practices.

While AI offers the potential for transforming health globally, decision makers must first address AI's safety and ethical use to responsibly harness its full potential and build public trust in these systems.