Taipei: A professor from Denmark specialized in legal aspects of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), highlighted the importance of protecting patients' privacy in the age of "smart health care" at a forum in Taipei Thursday. Marcelo Corrales Compagnucci, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen's Center for Advanced Studies in Bioscience Innovation Law, made the remarks during the forum organized by the TaiwanICDF, a government-funded foreign aid agency.
According to Focus Taiwan, Corrales emphasized during his keynote address titled "Building Ethical and Trustworthy AI for the Future of Smart Healthcare," that public healthcare facilities worldwide are increasingly utilizing AI and machine learning to enhance healthcare services. However, he raised concerns about privacy violations stemming from these practices and the use of popular mobile applications, such as menstrual tracking apps.
Corrales cited a 2015 incident where Google's AI firm DeepMind was provided access to the personal records of 1.6 million patients at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. This led to public apprehension regarding the use of private health data by technology companies. He stressed the issues of consent and data usage, noting that "many of these patients were not asked for consent."
He underscored that AI in health must be built on transparency and respect for autonomy, suggesting that patients need to be informed and systems must ensure a lawful basis for data usage, such as obtaining consent or another valid ground, rather than assuming data reuse is permissible.
Corrales referenced the EU's trustworthy AI guidelines, which outline key requirements for AI systems, including human agency and oversight, technical robustness and safety, privacy and data governance, transparency, and accountability. These guidelines serve as a benchmark for ensuring AI is both lawful and ethical.
The address was part of the second edition of the Development Focus Forum organized by TaiwanICDF. During the forum's opening, Peifen Hsieh, deputy head of TaiwanICDF, emphasized that smart health care is a significant component of the Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project. Launched by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung in May 2024, the project aims to deepen substantive relations with allies and like-minded countries.
Hsieh mentioned that Taiwan is currently assisting its South American ally, Paraguay, and Somaliland in Africa to develop a "Health Information System." She explained that the forum aims to foster dialogue between academia and medical practitioners, enhancing smart health care and international cooperation.