Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Abstract: Healthcare systems play a critical role in ensuring people's health. Establishing accurate diagnoses is a vital element of this process. As sources highlight misdiagnoses and missed diagnoses as a common issue, a solution must be sought. Diagnostic errors are common in the emergency departments, which has been recognized as a stressful work environment. Today's industries are forced to deal with rapidly changing technological advances that result in reshaped systems, products, and services. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of such technologies that can work as a solution to diagnosis issues but comes with technical, ethical and legal challenges. Hence, the thesis intends to investigate how AI can affect the accuracy of diagnosis as well as how its integration in healthcare relates to the technical, ethical and legal aspects. The thesis begins with a literature review, which serves as a theoretical foundation and allows for a conceptual framework to be formed. The conceptual framework is used to select interviewees, which results in 12 interviews with professors, researchers, doctors and politicians. In addition, a survey is conducted to obtain the general public’s opinion on the matter. The findings present that AI is already mature enough to make more accurate diagnoses than doctors as well as release burden from medical practitioners in the form of administrative tasks. One obstacle is the incomplete data available since laws hinder sharing of patient data. Furthermore, the AI algorithms must be fit for all social minorities and not demonstrate racial discrimination. The European AI Alliance was established in 2018 with the aim to keep the technology in check. Similar initiatives can be created on a national- and regional level to maintain some form of control over its proper use.