Institute of Religion academic staff Mr. Ivan Efreaim A. Gozum introduces a framework combining Catholic Social Teaching and AI ethics to deal with healthcare inequalities. He authored this paper with Ms. Chastene Christopher D. Flake from Angeles University Foundation.
The paper titled Integrating Catholic Social Teaching with AI Ethics to Address Inequity in AI Healthcare was published in the September issue of the Journal of Religion and Health (Springer Nature). The study explores ethical concerns about the growing use of AI in healthcare, particularly in low-resource settings.
The paper highlights AI’s potential to improve healthcare outcomes but warns that its benefits might be unevenly distributed, favoring wealthier urban areas over marginalized communities. The authors propose a framework based on Catholic social teaching principles like human dignity, the common good, and prioritizing the poor, which align with ethical concerns in AI-driven healthcare. Gozum and Flake call for systemic changes to ensure that AI technologies help all communities, especially underserved ones. They also emphasize that AI should enhance, not replace, healthcare professionals, and that ethical considerations around algorithmic bias must be addressed to avoid harming vulnerable populations.
This research presents a unique intersection of religion, ethics, and technology, urging policymakers and healthcare professionals to consider the social justice implications of AI in healthcare.
