The use of AI has potential to bring both great benefits and great risks, which makes appropriate and thoughtful protections even more critical.
Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial privacy commissioners and ombuds (FPT privacy regulators) have issued a resolution calling on their respective governments and interested parties in the public and private sectors to take a responsible approach to the development, procurement and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) systems in health care and in health research.
Health care systems across Canada are facing mounting pressures, including limited resources, delays in accessing services, rising costs, an aging population, and a shortage of healthcare workers. When used responsibly, AI systems have the potential to help alleviate some of these pressures by improving efficiency, supporting decision-making, and enhancing patient care.
As AI systems are developed and implemented at an unprecedented rate, Canada’s FPT privacy regulators are highlighting the importance of the ongoing protection of individuals’ personal health information and maintaining patient trust throughout the lifecycle of these systems.
Responsible use of AI systems helps to protect Canadians’ privacy and other fundamental rights and maintain public trust in the health sector while maximizing the benefits derived from innovation. Inadequate protections, accountability, and oversight could lead to significant consequences for individuals and groups, including the unauthorized collection, use, and disclosure of their personal health information, inaccurate inferences made about them, systemic discrimination, and other patient harms.
Canada’s FPT privacy regulators are urging federal, provincial, and territorial governments to:
- Review, amend, or adopt legislation and regulations that balance support for innovation with the need to ensure that AI systems meet six core principles (privacy protective, valid and reliable, safe, human rights affirming, transparent, and accountable).
- Consult meaningfully with the privacy regulator in their respective jurisdiction when developing legislative and regulatory frameworks.
- Engage with the public frequently and transparently, particularly people from marginalized and vulnerable communities.
- Legally require all relevant parties who develop, procure, and use AI systems in health care to establish effective AI governance and accountability frameworks.
The FPT privacy regulators have also issued specific recommendations for developers and service providers of AI systems, as well as health care providers that procure, adopt, and use such systems. The recommendations are to put in place and implement essential elements of a trustworthy AI accountability and management framework.
The regulators are also calling on Canada’s health research agencies to update national research ethics policies to provide more detailed guidance for the ethical conduct of AI (or AI-enabled) research involving human participants. They call on research ethics boards (REBs), associations and oversight bodies to strengthen the education and capacity of REB members to carry out the necessary due diligence in reviewing AI or AI-enabled research proposals. They also urge health researchers themselves to refine their assessments of risks and benefits to individuals and groups, and to be transparent about, and share, the outcomes of their AI or AI-enabled research.
“It is increasingly evident from news reports, social media and our own daily experiences that AI is becoming ever more present in our world, whether it be through online or in-person interactions with health care providers, businesses and government,” said Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner Diane McLeod. “AI technology is evolving quickly in ways that are often challenging to comprehend. My colleagues across the country and I want to ensure that AI is regulated in ways that support its responsible use in health care and health research, as well as its use in any other contexts. As privacy regulators, our role is to advocate for careful and thoughtful governance and use of this technology, to ensure the benefits are attained, while mitigating risks to privacy to the highest degree possible.”
Canada’s FPT privacy commissioners and ombuds also commit to continue to advocate for laws and regulations governing the responsible use of AI in health and health research and to coordinate, to the extent possible, on joint enforcement, guidance, and public education efforts.
The resolution on responsible use of artificial intelligence in health and health research was passed at the recent annual meeting of federal, provincial, and territorial information and privacy commissioners and ombuds, hosted in Ottawa by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Information Commissioner of Canada.
Related links
- Resolution: Responsible use of artificial intelligence in health and health research
- News release: Canada’s privacy and information regulators collaborate to advance transparency, privacy and accountability amid rapid technological change
For more information:
Elaine Schiman
Communications Manager
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta
communications@oipc.ab.ca
Mobile: (587) 983-8766