Black Boxing in Healthcare Artificial Intelligence
Black Boxing in Healthcare Artificial Intelligence
https://www.cureus.com/abstracts/1665-black-boxing-in-healthcare-artificial-intelligence
Publish Date: 2026-02-05 19:49:00
Source Domain: www.cureus.com
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly popular in various fields, particularly medicine, for their efficiency and accuracy. However, they often operate like a “black box” where the underlying processes are unclear.
- The “black box” concept leads to two main issues: a lack of transparency and a lack of interpretability. Physicians struggle to understand how AI systems function, which impacts trust and usage.
- To improve transparency, Dr. Keith Dreyer suggests standardizing the information in AI catalogs to help doctors make informed decisions about their use.
- Poon and Sung propose a stepwise method for making AI systems more transparent, using techniques like Garson’s Algorithm and LIME to explain the AI’s decision-making process.
- Some experts, like Eric Topol, argue that AI’s potential benefits outweigh transparency concerns, provided safety is maintained. They caution against halting AI development due to the “black box” nature.
- The debate around AI transparency in healthcare urges developers to rethink AI creation methods and encourages healthcare providers and patients to reconsider their expectations and priorities in treatment planning.