If someone told you on New Year of 2020 that there would be a global lockdown to prevent the spread of a deathly disease that made people lose their sense of taste and smell, you might look at them as if they were mentally unstable. But that is the harsh reality that struck the world in March of 2020 when the way we imagined not only our lives, but healthcare changed forever.
Our world’s healthcare systems were challenged to combat the pandemic of COVID-19 Ill-equipped to do so by no fault of their own, hundreds of thousands contracted the disease and began to die because of it. Not only was there a lack of PPE (personal protective equipment) and tools, but there was a lack of personnel to help care for those who tested positive for the disease. Patients both in and out of hospitals struggled to get in contact with doctors and health care professionals regarding everyday illnesses as they were occupied treating those with the most serious symptoms.
For this reason, many people turned to the internet and new health apps to help understand not only COVID but people’s day-to-day healthcare needs. AI mobile health app start-ups burst forth trying to help minimize the stress on the healthcare systems. Millions of dollars were invested in them with the hopes that they could assist people with their health and be an outlet for those seeking immediate medical direction and care.
Patients were faced with a radical transition from talking to doctors and nurses who had years of experience in the field to then being treated by a robot. Besides issues of legality that these apps faced in their roll-out, there are accuracy and liability fears when using artificial intelligence to determine outcomes of people’s health. More simply stated: the AI was in control of life or death for people. Who is to blame when they misdiagnose you or suggest the wrong thing?