Last week, Columbia University Bioethics hosted a webinar (continuing legal education) centered on forum members’ publication Automation complacency: risks of abdicating medical decision making.
Over 100 people attended the online event. Michael Saadeh, the first author and project leader, shared his insights about the importance of the topic, providing context and setting forth the defining characteristics if automation bias and automation complacency. Emily Beer followed up with a detailed outline of relevant law, including Texas v. Pieces Technologies; Practice Fusion; and Barrows et al. v. Humana, Inc.
Camille Castelyn described the influence of different settings and culture on the analysis of AI in health care. As a South African citizen, she provided authentic insights on Africa and global bioethics. Joel Janhonen spoke about the psychological tendencies to go along automated decisions and the distribution of cognitive resources with an eye to using AI to free up practitioners time and energy. The authors noted that AI improves early detection, analyzing and responding to risk in emergency or high-pressure systems.
The authors pointed out some risks involved with automation complacency including bias in the data or algorithm, a lack of explainability in the AI or of practitioner transparency, preserving the doctor-patient relationship is important, emphasizing the need for regulation and a human in the loop.
Larry Medsker, the editor-in-chief of Springer’s AI & Ethics described philosophical frameworks to address AI including Kantian duty-based concepts, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics.
Many thanks to David Hoffman for organizing the event, moderating and introducing the topic’s background and authors, and securing the CLE credit through Columbia Law School.
All members of this global group contributed meaningfully to making the evening a success. The forum is greatly appreciative of each member’s contribution to highlighting important topics of interest to the tech ethics and bioethics communities.
Interested in applying to join the forum? Contact ahz5@columbia.edu
Innovative Bioethics Forum 
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