Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Developing moral AI to support decision-making about antimicrobial use

Nature Machine Intelligence volume 4, pages 912–915 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

The use of decision-support systems based on artificial intelligence approaches in antimicrobial prescribing raises important moral questions. Adopting ethical frameworks alongside such systems can aid the consideration of infection-specific complexities and support moral decision-making to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Overview of Bentham’s felicific calculus variables and example application to starting antimicrobial treatment.

References

  1. Holmes, A. H. et al. Lancet 387, 176–187 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Murray, C. J. L. Lancet 399, 629–655 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Topol, E. J. Nat. Med 25, 44–56 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Esteva, A. et al. Nat. Med 25, 24–29 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Rawson, T. M., Ahmad, R., Toumazou, C., Georgiou, P. & Holmes, H. H. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. 23, 524–532 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Peiffer-Smadja, N. et al. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. 26, 584–595 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Wynants, L. et al. BMJ 369, m1328 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Lv, J., Deng, S. & Zhang, L. Biosaf. Health 3, 22–31 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Chindelevitch, L. et al. Preprint at http://arxiv.org/abs/2208.04683 (2022).

  10. Rawson, T. M. et al. Nat. Hum. Behav. 3, 543–545 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Brink, A. J. & Richards, G. Curr. Opin. Crit. Care 26, 478–488 (Oct, 2020).

  12. Butler, C. C., Kinnersley, P., Prout, H., Rollnick, S., Edwards, A. & Elwyn, G. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 48, 435–440 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Langford, B. J. & Morris, A. M. Can. Pharm. J. 150, 349–350 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Badea, C. & Artus, G. Preprint at http://arxiv.org/abs/2103.02728 (2021).

  15. Badea, C. & Gilpin, L. H. Preprint at https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2210.00608 (2021).

  16. Badea, C. Preprint at http://arxiv.org/abs/2109.03283 (2021).

  17. Sinnott-Armstrong, W. in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (ed. Zalta, E. N.) (Stanford Univ., 2021).

  18. General Medical Council. https://www.gmc-uk.org/ethical-guidance/ethical-guidance-for-doctors/good-medical-practice/duties-of-a-doctor (April 2019).

  19. Post, B., Badea, C., Faisal, A. & Brett, S. J. B. AI Ethics https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-022-00230-z (2022).

  20. Alexander, L. & Michael Moore, M. in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (ed. Zalta, E. N.) (Stanford Univ., 2021).

  21. Johnson. R. & Cureton, A. in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (ed. Zalta, E. N.) (Stanford Univ., 2021).

  22. Hursthouse, R. & Pettigrove, G. in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (ed. Zalta, E. N.) (Stanford Univ., 2021).

  23. Hindocha, S. & Badea, C. AI Ethics 2, 167–175 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Beauchamp, T. L. & Childress, J. F. Principles of Biomedical Ethics (Oxford Univ. Press, 1979).

  25. Meyer, L. in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (ed. Zalta, E. N.) (Stanford Univ., 2020).

  26. Lysaght, T., Lim, H. Y., Xafis, V. & Ngiam, K. Y. Asian Bioeth. Rev. 11, 299–314 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Grote, T. & Berens, P. J. Med. Eth. 46, 205–211 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Barredo Arrieta, A. et al. Inf. Fus. 58, 82–115 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Price, W. N. II, Gerke, S. & Cohen, I. G. JAMA 322, 1765–1766 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/health-inequalities-financial-crisis-and-infectious-disease-europe (2013).

  31. Alividza, V. et al. Infect. Dis. Poverty 7, 76 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Williamson, E. J. et al. Nature 584, 430–436 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Berrevoets, J., Jordon, J., Bica, I., Gimson, A. & van der Schaar, M. Adv. Neural Inf. Process. Syst. 33, 20037–20050 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  34. Persad, G., Wertheimer, A. & Emanuel, E. J. Lancet 373, 423–431 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

W.B. was supported by the UK Research and Innovation Centres for Doctoral Training in AI for Healthcare, http://ai4health.io (grant no. P/S023283/1).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Antimicrobial Optimisation, Imperial College London, London, UK

    William J. Bolton, Pantelis Georgiou, Alison Holmes & Timothy M. Rawson

  2. AI4Health Centre for Doctoral Training, Imperial College London, London, UK

    William J. Bolton

  3. Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London, UK

    William J. Bolton & Cosmin Badea

  4. Centre for Bio-inspired Technology, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Pantelis Georgiou

  5. National Institute for Health Research, Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Alison Holmes & Timothy M. Rawson

  6. Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Alison Holmes

Authors
  1. William J. Bolton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cosmin Badea
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Pantelis Georgiou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alison Holmes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Timothy M. Rawson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to William J. Bolton.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

T.M.R. was employed by Sandoz (2020), Roche Diagnostics Ltd (2021) and bioMerieux (2021–2022). These commercial entities were not involved in the design, collection, analysis or interpretation of data, the writing of this article or the decision to submit it for publication. All authors declare no other competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature Machine Intelligence thanks Zvonimir Koporc, Stuart McLennan and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bolton, W.J., Badea, C., Georgiou, P. et al. Developing moral AI to support decision-making about antimicrobial use. Nat Mach Intell 4, 912–915 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-022-00558-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-022-00558-5

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing AI and Robotics

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: AI and Robotics newsletter — what matters in AI and robotics research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: AI and Robotics