Artificial intelligence in health: ethical dilemmas between technological efficiency and the right to human care
Keywords:
humanized care; ethics; artificial intelligence; medicine; healthAbstract
Introduction: Artificial intelligence has established itself as a key technology in the transformation of health systems, generating improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness, but it has also posed important ethical challenges related to equity, autonomy, and humanization of care.
Objective: To synthesize and analyze the available evidence on the applications of artificial intelligence in health and the ethical dilemmas associated between technological efficiency and the right to human care.
Methods: A systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, with studies published between 2021 and 2026. After the selection process and evaluation of methodological quality, 27 studies were included for qualitative synthesis.
Results: The main applications of artificial intelligence focus on assisted diagnosis, risk prediction, personalized medicine, remote monitoring, and process automation, generating significant improvements in operational efficiency and clinical quality. However, relevant ethical dilemmas were identified, such as algorithmic bias, lack of transparency, privacy risks, ambiguity in responsibility, and dehumanization of care, which reflect a structural tension between efficiency and fundamental rights.
Conclusions: Evidence supports the implementation of strategies such as explainability, continuous human supervision, bias mitigation, and the strengthening of ethical and regulatory frameworks, as necessary conditions to integrate artificial intelligence in health in a safe, equitable, and patient-centered manner.
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