Authors
Rebecca Distler
Carnegie Ethics Fellow
The following project was produced by a working group from the second Carnegie Ethics Fellows cohort reflecting nearly two years of convenings, collaboration, and research. Each report in this special series examines a critical issue at the intersection of ethics and international affairs. The Carnegie Ethics Fellowship aims to develop the next generation of ethical leaders across business, government, academia, and non-governmental organizations.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly shifted from specialized technology to general-purpose infrastructure and is becoming foundational to how people access information and conduct their day-to-day work. Healthcare is one of the most visible and highly sensitive areas where this transition is unfolding. While AI has the potential to improve the efficiency, quality, and accessibility of healthcare, it is not without ethical risks.
Against this backdrop, this report explores a set of critical questions. First, as AI systems begin to reliably outperform humans in healthcare-related tasks, how do the ethical considerations shift and how should current frameworks guide this next phase? Second, assuming these capabilities and the evidence of their impact continue to advance, what new ethical obligations might arise in relation to the non-state actors that develop these systems, and in the settings where the potential health impact is the greatest?
Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit. The views expressed within this project are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of Carnegie Council or the authors’ employers.
