Perspectives on Ethics in AI for Health

Jennifer Gibson, Director, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics

Jay Shaw, Assistant Professor, IHPME, Scientist, Institute for Health Systems Solutions and Virtual Care, Women’s College Hospital

Jennifer Gibson and Jay Shaw will present on four important ethical issues when thinking about AI and health.

Jennifer Gibson is Sun Life Financial Chair in Bioethics and Director of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, Associate Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. Jennifer has a PhD in Philosophy. Her program of research employs qualitative social science methods and normative analysis to study ethical issues in health institutions and systems. She is particularly interested in the role and interaction of values in decision-making at different levels in the health system. Currently, she is leading a new program of research on ‘Ethics and AI for Good Health’. Jennifer has served on government and policy advisory committees related to medical assistance in dying, public health emergency preparedness, public health surveillance, drug funding and supply, and healthcare resource allocation. She also works closely with the World Health Organization on global health ethics issues.

Jay Shaw is a Scientist at the Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care at Women’s College Hospital and Assistant Professor (Status) at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. He is currently an AMS Phoenix Fellow in Ethics and Governance of AI for Health, and his research examines the links between innovative models of health care delivery and emerging digital technologies.

Approaching the Promise of Artificial Intelligence & Big Data in Healthcare

Health systems, services and policy researchers are increasingly interested in the potential for AI and Big Data to address challenges ranging from complex societal problems to those relating to individual care.

For this reason, the Health Services, Systems & Policy Seminar Series at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), University of Toronto will focus this year on the potential and limitations of AI and Big Data to improve healthcare.

Canadian and international researchers and practitioners from an array of disciplines including computer science, decision sciences, predictive analytics, and bioinformatics will join us to discuss applications of AI and big data to issues ranging from genomics, radiology, public health and hospital scheduling to blood transfusion.

Please consider forwarding this information to any colleagues who might be interested.