Panopticon implications of ethical AI: equity, disparity, and inequality in healthcare

Addressing issues in the healthcare domain as principal illustrations, instrumentalities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are explored at the nexus of ubiquity and control reflected in the Internet of Things (IoT) and in various governance and policy features. Roles of ethics and ontological determinations are examined with particular attention to the effects of AI-enabled systems and policies on selected groups and related health disparities and biases. The growth of predictive data analytics and the simultaneous growth in the availability of interoperable AI-enabled devices offer opportunities to mitigate healthcare disparities currently endemic in indigent, underrepresented, and underserved communities. However, use of these devices can exacerbate inequities as well as ameliorate them. By themselves, human and AI agents operating in an IoT-sustained infosphere cannot solve problems related to the multiple forms of marginalization that affect the health and wellbeing of particular communities. They require actively engaged and empathetic governance to address complex socioeconomic issues and solve complex accessibility and distribution problems. In collaborative environments, where healthcare provision depends on the synergy of human and AI actors, regulatory models must not only address the ethical conduct of medical practitioners, but also the professional conduct of informaticists, software developers, and device vendors.