People Doubt AI in End-of-Life Care

FEATURED RESEARCH

People See AI as Less Competent in Ethical Medical Judgments

People are skeptical about AI’s involvement in critical end-of-life decisions, according to recent research led by Michael Laakasuo at the University of Turku.

Despite the rapid integration of AI into healthcare, especially in ethically sensitive areas like euthanasia, it’s not at all surprising that public acceptance is significantly lower compared to human decision-making.

AI faces moral judgment asymmetry: Laakasuo’s team conducted multiple experiments involving nearly 6,000 participants from Finland, the Czech Republic, and the UK.

They found a clear “asymmetry effect,” where people consistently showed lower moral approval when AI systems decided to withdraw life support compared to an identical decision by human doctors.

For example, the approval for withdrawing life support dropped significantly when a robot was the decision-maker, even if the AI only recommended the decision to a human doctor.

The researchers suggest that people perceive AI as less competent and less capable of justifying its decisions clearly, contributing to the distrust.

Patient Autonomy is Key: Interestingly, this skepticism vanished when the decision aligned with the patient’s autonomy, for instance, when a patient actively requested euthanasia.

This shows that patient autonomy is a critical factor in influencing public acceptance of AI in healthcare.

These findings give us a glimpse into the complex relationship between humans and AI in healthcare. This is where improving AI transparency and competence could help bridge the acceptance gap.

For more details: Full Article 

Brain Booster

Select the right answer! (See explanation below)

Opinion and Perspectives

RURAL HEALTHCARE

Telemedicine and AI Offer Hope for Rural Patients Facing Doctor Shortages

Rural healthcare in America is faced with significant hurdles: provider shortages, economic pressures, and geographic isolation that often make accessing basic medical care challenging.

Randy Boldyga, CEO of RXNT, talks about these barriers and emphasizes that roughly one in five Americans live in areas where routine medical visits can become a difficult journey.

Provider Shortages and Economic Strains: According to Boldyga, rural clinics frequently grapple with recruiting and retaining medical professionals.

The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a national physician shortage of up to 86,000 by 2036, disproportionately affecting rural communities.

Additionally, the new Medicaid funding cuts could further strain these healthcare facilities operating on tight budgets, potentially leading to more closures and less access.

Technology as a Lifeline: Boldyga points to telemedicine and electronic health records (EHR) as possible advancements.

Telemedicine allows patients in rural areas to consult specialists without lengthy travel, which can improve access and timely intervention. EHRs facilitate efficient information-sharing between rural clinics and urban specialists, enabling better coordinated and safer care.

The Promise of AI and Adapted Solutions: AI and predictive analytics can further enhance healthcare delivery by identifying communities at risk and enabling proactive health measures.

However, Boldyga stresses the importance of pairing technology with robust community outreach and education, ensuring residents can effectively utilize available resources.

Ultimately, thoughtful integration of technology, alongside sustained investment and tailored community approaches, offers a promising pathway to bridging healthcare gaps in rural America.

For more details: Full Article

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Product Pipeline

AI EXOSUIT

The First AI-Native Exoskeleton That Learns and Adapts in Real Time

German Bionic has unveiled Exia, the world’s first truly Augmented AI-powered exoskeleton, capable of delivering up to 84 lbs of dynamic lift assistance while learning from each user’s movements to optimize support.

Trained on billions of real-world motion data points, Exia offers a personalized, evolving solution for physically demanding work across industries like logistics, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Exia marks a major step forward in wearable robotics that’s stronger, smarter, lighter, and built for the realities of today’s workforce.

With integrated safety monitoring, cloud analytics, and an intuitive user app, it aims to reduce injuries, boost productivity, and help address global labor shortages by making tough jobs safer and more sustainable.

For more details: Full Article

Policy and Ethics

AI REGULATION

The Ethics of Shifting AI Oversight to Public Hospitals in Singapore

Singapore’s health regulator wants to make it easier for public hospitals and agencies to develop and use their own AI-powered medical software, like diagnostic tools, without going through full licensing. 

Right now, rules only allow this if the software stays within one hospital. The new plan would let these tools be shared across the public health system, as long as they’re low-risk, supervised by a senior doctor, and follow safety checks.

This could speed up innovation in patient care, but it also shifts responsibility from national regulators to in-house teams, raising new questions about safety and oversight.

For more details: Full Article

Byte-Sized Break

📢 Three Things AI Did This Week

• OpenAI’s CFO says the company is now set up for a possible IPO and may need up to $500 billion for future data capacity, with AI search as a top priority. [Link]

• Hospitals from Texas to Illinois added more Moxi units last week, bringing the mobile “nurse sidekick” to 30 sites. The bots zip meds and samples around the wards, showing that physical AI may hit scale sooner than bedside chatbots. [Link]

• A viral video of a kangaroo holding a boarding pass at an airport gate was revealed to be AI-generated, sparking online debate over the realism of AI content and its role in spreading misinformation. [Link]

Have a Great Weekend!

Trivia Answer: C) Red blood cell

Mature red blood cells in humans don’t have a nucleus. This unique feature gives them more space to carry oxygen via hemoglobin and allows them to be more flexible as they travel through narrow blood vessels!