WHO seeks to promote responsible use of AI in health and the creation of stricter ethical standards.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the creation of a new collaborative center on artificial intelligence (AI) for health governance. To this end, it designated the Center for Digital Ethics at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands as the home for this WHO collaborative center.
WHO recognizes the potential of AI to revolutionize healthcare and improve health and well-being. However, it also recognizes the need for collaboration among diverse stakeholders committed to governance, ethical issues, and evidence-based policies.
This new WHO Collaborating Centre recognizes Delft University of Technology's expertise and commitment to responsible research and innovation. The two organizations will continue to jointly organize international consultations, workshops, and new regulations.
“WHO is committed to assisting Member States in planning, governing and adopting information technologies. AI responsible,” said Dr. Alain Labrique, director of Digital Health and Innovation of the WHO. “We are witnessing remarkable progress, as the AI “It is poised to transform health systems and help people on their health journeys. To ensure these benefits reach everyone in an ethical, safe, and equitable manner, we rely on strong technical and academic partnerships to guide us through this rapidly evolving field.”
This center will be key for the WHO to continue promoting the responsible and ethical use of AI in health, as well as advancing research on priority topics. This will strengthen the foundation for creating and designing new guidelines for policymaking.
Professor Jeroen van den Hoven, Scientific Director of the Delft Centre for Digital Ethics, said that this collaboration is the result of two decades of research in digital ethics and responsible innovation. “The Delft Centre for Digital Ethics is one of the pioneers in operationalizing ethical values in the design requirements of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence,” he noted.
