A new Imperial College London white paper has highlighted the opportunities and barriers for AI to improve the health of the UK’s minority ethnic groups.
Data-driven technologies, including AI, are powerful tools demonstrating potential in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as skin cancer, according to Imperial’s Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI). Yet these could inadvertently worsen the health inequalities experienced by minority ethnic groups if current challenges such as biased algorithms, poor data collection and a lack of diversity in research and development are not addressed.
The white paper reviewed academic literature and policy evidence to identify the issues and opportunities for AI and data-driven technologies to improve the health and care of minority ethnic groups, who generally experience poorer health than the wider population, as emphasised by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The study included interviews with a range of experts in the UK and internationally across academia, industry, NHS policy and practice, legal and regulatory bodies, patient-facing organisations and charities.
The report presents evidence of a racial bias in AI, demonstrating how minority ethnic groups can be underserved by technology. For example, facial recognition systems have shown to be up to 19% less accurate at recognising images of black men and women compared to white individuals.
Such bias is also seen in AI when used in the detection and treatment of health conditions such as skin cancer. Images of white patients are predominantly used to train algorithms to spot melanoma which could lead to worse outcomes for black people through missed diagnoses, the study found.
The authors argue unconscious and conscious bias in AI is partly fuelled by the lack of diversity in academia, among AI developers and at strategic levels of the health system and government.
Furthermore, IGHI has called for further research and transparent discussion on the creation and use of these technologies in health care.
Dr Saira Ghafur, digital health lead at the IGHI, said: “AI has tremendous potential for healthcare system delivery. However, our white paper shows how it can exacerbate existing health inequities in minority ethnic groups. By working across government, healthcare and the technology sector, it is crucial we ensure that no one is left behind.”
