Artificial intelligence and the law of informed consent

Artificial intelligence and the law of informed consent
Book Chapter
Glenn Cohen, Andrew Slottje
Research Handbook on Health, AI and the Law, 16 July 2024 [Elgar]
Introduction
A patient is diagnosed with stage I non-small-cell lung cancer. The patient’s physician recommends surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy, explaining the benefits and risks of each. The physician does not explain, however, that standard treatment guidelines for the patient would counsel against chemotherapy, and that more aggressive treatment has been recommended for the patient by an artificial intelligence (AI) system based on the patient’s imaging data. Only after the course of treatment is completed does the patient learn of the AI’s involvement in the care decision. The patient is distressed that, as he sees it, he underwent a potentially unnecessary treatment because his physician outsourced decision-making to a machine without letting him know.