Ethics of care: AI as a tool for social support of vulnerable population groups

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of this study is determined by the process of introducing artificial intelligence into socio-economic processes, accompanied by increased attention to the ethical aspects and risk assessments of its use. Based on the normative theory - the ethics of care, the authors tried to find out how artificial intelligence technology can be used to help vulnerable groups of the population, especially the elderly. Materials and methods. The ethics of care, as well as the concept of "Care-Centered Value-Sensitive Design" (CCVSD), which assesses the social consequences of the introduction of technologies, are used as a methodology for studying the interaction of man and technology in the field of medicine and social support. Results and discussion. The work distinguishes two main types of artificial intelligence as a tool and assistant: auxiliary assistive robotics and mobile applications, chatbots, including the function of the medical decision support system (MDSS). The authors conclude that along with the benefits of implementing AI algorithms, such as increasing the efficiency of disease diagnostics, helping to monitor the cognitive state of the elderly, there are also certain risks. It is noted that the loss of the human factor, delegating the function of support and care for a person to technologies can dehumanize this area, which is based, among other things, on empathy and trust. It is emphasized that trust can be undermined due to the ethical bias of the algorithms used, violation of confidentiality, leakage of personal data, the problem of misinformation, summing up the results according to the wrong algorithm. Conclusion.The authors conclude that the balance between technology and human experience is an important component of the successful development of healthcare and social support, and AI technologies should only complement care and concern for a person, and not replace it.