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Although artificial intelligence is often touted as a game-changer in healthcare, an international team of scientists is warning that it also may pose threats to human health in terms of social, political, economic and security-related well-being. 

“We ask the medical and public health community to engage in evidence-based advocacy for safe artificial intelligence, rooted in the precautionary principle,” study authors wrote in BMJ Global Health. They also called for a halt to some AI activities until appropriate regulation of it can be established.

The arrival of AI tools such as ChatGPT has accelerated the way people view the assimilation of machine learning into all areas of life, including long-term care. It may end up causing more harm than good, the researchers widely cautioned, noting potential psychological and emotional damages to workers and the public.

Researchers, led by Frederik Federspiel of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom, highlighted three main areas in which AI may be misused with regards to health. They said it could be used as a tool to manipulate and control others, as well as a means to develop lethal weapons. It also may prod the elimination of human labor, they noted.

The use of AI can either enhance relationships nurtured between providers or break them down, the researchers explained. This is particularly true in all forms of long-term and home health care. AI also could eventually assist in tasks such as the administration of medications and the monitoring of blood glucose levels, which would require strict safety protocols.

Study authors said “effective regulation” of the development and use of AI is needed “to avoid harm.” They also called for a pause in AI activities until oversight of it can catch up, a prospect many find unlikely in the short-term. “Until such effective regulation is in place,” they wrote, “a moratorium on the development of self-improving artificial general intelligence should be instituted.”