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The ethics of AI in health care: A mapping review

Author

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  • Morley, Jessica
  • Machado, Caio C.V.
  • Burr, Christopher
  • Cowls, Josh
  • Joshi, Indra
  • Taddeo, Mariarosaria
  • Floridi, Luciano

Abstract

This article presents a mapping review of the literature concerning the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care. The goal of this review is to summarise current debates and identify open questions for future research. Five literature databases were searched to support the following research question: how can the primary ethical risks presented by AI-health be categorised, and what issues must policymakers, regulators and developers consider in order to be ‘ethically mindful? A series of screening stages were carried out—for example, removing articles that focused on digital health in general (e.g. data sharing, data access, data privacy, surveillance/nudging, consent, ownership of health data, evidence of efficacy)—yielding a total of 156 papers that were included in the review.

Suggested Citation

  • Morley, Jessica & Machado, Caio C.V. & Burr, Christopher & Cowls, Josh & Joshi, Indra & Taddeo, Mariarosaria & Floridi, Luciano, 2020. "The ethics of AI in health care: A mapping review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:260:y:2020:i:c:s0277953620303919
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113172
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. Clement A. Adebamowo & Shawneequa Callier & Simisola Akintola & Oluchi Maduka & Ayodele Jegede & Christopher Arima & Temidayo Ogundiran & Sally N. Adebamowo, 2023. "The promise of data science for health research in Africa," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
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    10. Cristina Trocin & Patrick Mikalef & Zacharoula Papamitsiou & Kieran Conboy, 2023. "Responsible AI for Digital Health: a Synthesis and a Research Agenda," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(6), pages 2139-2157, December.
    11. Siala, Haytham & Wang, Yichuan, 2022. "SHIFTing artificial intelligence to be responsible in healthcare: A systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    12. Nareddy Abhireddy, 2022. "Sustainable and Responsible Artificial Intelligence Implementation in Healthcare," International Journal of Scientific Research and Modern Technology, Prasu Publications, vol. 1(12), pages 201-215.
    13. Jeon, June & Kim, Lanu & Park, Jaehyuk, 2025. "The ethics of generative AI in social science research: A qualitative approach for institutionally grounded AI research ethics," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    14. Kusta, Olsi & Bearman, Margaret & Gorur, Radhika & Risør, Torsten & Brodersen, John Brandt & Hoeyer, Klaus, 2024. "Speed, accuracy, and efficiency: The promises and practices of digitization in pathology," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 345(C).
    15. Kanungo, Rama Prasad & Liu, Rui & Gupta, Suraksha, 2024. "Cognitive analytics enabled responsible artificial intelligence for business model innovation: A multilayer perceptron neural networks estimation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    16. Markov, Iliya & Guglielmetti, Rafael & Laumanns, Marco & Fernández-Antolín, Anna & de Souza, Ravin, 2021. "Simulation-based design and analysis of on-demand mobility services," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 170-205.
    17. Wang, Weisha & Wang, Yichuan & Chen, Long & Ma, Rui & Zhang, Minhao, 2024. "Justice at the Forefront: Cultivating felt accountability towards Artificial Intelligence among healthcare professionals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 347(C).
    18. Hor, Timothy (Shoon Chan) & Fong, Lee & Wynne, Katie & Verhoeven, Bert, 2025. "Easing the cognitive load of general practitioners: AI design principles for future-ready healthcare," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    19. Sanchaita Hazra & Bodhisattwa Prasad Majumder & Tuhin Chakrabarty, 2025. "AI Safety Should Prioritize the Future of Work," Papers 2504.13959, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2025.
    20. Perdana, Arif & Arifin, Saru & Quadrianto, Novi, 2025. "Algorithmic trust and regulation: Governance, ethics, legal, and social implications blueprint for Indonesia's central banking," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    21. Thapa, Bhawna & Russell, Aaron & Joshi, Omkar, 2025. "Generative AI in Higher Education: Analyzing Adoption Patterns and Perceptions in Agriculture and Natural Resources Courses," Applied Economics Teaching Resources (AETR), Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 7(4), August.

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