When AI intersects with human life: Navigating ethical terrain

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an omnipresent force in our lives. From our homes to workplaces, from healthcare to entertainment, AI has permeated every facet of modern existence. AI’s ubiquity is evident in our daily routines. It shapes the recommendations we receive while shopping online, the content we encounter on social media, and even the personalised medical advice we access through telehealth platforms.

However, as AI becomes increasingly woven into the fabric of our lives, it brings with it a host of ethical concerns and considerations, raising questions about privacy, bias, and accountability. With so many aspects of AI that are truly beneficial to society and mankind, there’s no turning back time on it. Of course, in the wrong hands, AI can be terribly destructive, and that’s without talking about scaremongering and exaggerated claims of what AI can become if we let it. To maximise its benefits and mitigate its threats, we must create a framework for AI’s responsible development and application, remaining vigilant to ensure that it works for us, instead of allowing ourselves to work for AI.

This is particularly important in the realm of healthcare, where AI intersects with human life.

The human life dimension: AI in fertility

Within the realm of healthcare, AI has made traction in radiology and is beginning to interact with the very creation of life in reproductive care. Playing a pivotal role in offering renewed hope to aspiring parents, AI has the potential to transform the entire landscape of reproductive health analysis and intervention.

Consider IVF as a case study. Success rates for IVF treatments haven’t seen much improvement over the last few decades. In fact, only around 30% of women will realise a live birth in their first round of IVF. During an IVF cycle, a woman undergoes a regimen of hormones to stimulate the ovaries. She takes medication to help mature the eggs for collection, which takes place under sedation. A reproductive endocrinologist performs egg retrieval, extracting eggs, which will then be combined with sperm to form embryos – the earliest stages of life.

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