The uses of artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector could revolutionize the sector, ensuring greater accuracy and speed in diagnosis, treatment and saving lives, but today it is difficult to assess the full scope of these applications in terms of potential benefits and risks. . Precisely for this reason, experts on Thursday (19) criticized what they consider to be excessive details in the draft law (PL). 2338/2023, which seeks to regulate artificial intelligence in the country. The project is being analyzed by Brazil’s Interim Commission for Artificial Intelligence (CTIA), which promoted the public hearing.
Given the capabilities of this group of applications and programs capable of performing tasks using algorithms that mimic human thinking based on learned patterns, Wagner Mira Jr., a professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in the field of computing systems, noted that the text of the draft overstates potential risks and other issues, which could quickly make the legislation obsolete.
— In this scenario where we cannot predict which technologies might be used, He pointed out that our ability to search for all negative consequences is far from our reality.
Professor at the University of São Paulo School of Medicine (USP), Edson Amaro Jr., emphasized that the current wording of the proposal submitted by a committee of jurists could hinder the development of new technologies. He considered that technologies should be created to assist healthcare professionals, who ultimately bear responsibility for patient treatment decisions.
– This is a dynamic process. “We don’t know how the model will behave when it is used.”
benefits
Professor at the University of São Paulo School of Law (USP) Juliano Souza de Albuquerque Maranhão and professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) in the field of biomedical engineering Fernando José Ribeiro Siles also expressed concern about the excessive detail of the proposal, which according to them could lead to a lack of benefit. Of the benefits. They cited initiatives already underway in the country that could improve diagnosis and treatment in the private sector and in the Unified Health System (SUS).
Among the projects that have proven successful in the field, according to participants, is the development of Albert Einstein Hospital, which increased the efficiency of imaging diagnosis in its units through artificial intelligence tools. These applications allow, for example, earlier treatment of degenerative diseases and faster care in the emergency room.
Rodolfo de Carvalho Bacanella, a professor at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), believes that the country should currently focus on investing in artificial intelligence and not hindering its development. He compared the current moment to the implementation of basic sanitation in London.
— In the 19th century, England made a huge investment in London’s sanitation. This investment was highly questionable. Today, no one in their right mind questions the huge investment in urban sanitation. The investment we have to make in AI for healthcare today is comparable. Today we cannot think about health without the support of these tools. He said: We need investment.
Senators who participated in the discussion agreed with the concerns of the debaters. Astronaut Marcos Pontes (PL-SP), who chaired the meeting, stressed that legislation in the field of technology cannot stop innovation and compared the regulation of artificial intelligence to a framework Start-ups.
— There is always a tendency to want to put all the details into law, but in this case it is very difficult. We have launched the important event for startups in 2021, and today we are already discussing the changes – he said.
In the PSDB-DF assessment, the path also includes legislation that stimulates the sector rather than restricts it:
-There is a legal concern about banning something that we don’t even know exactly what it is. It is necessary to liberalize the IT sector so that we do not fall behind.
Agência Senado (Reproduction licensed based on citation from Agência Senado)
