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Global Health in the Age of AI: Charting a Course for Ethical Implementation and Societal Benefit

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Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents unprecedented opportunities to transform healthcare worldwide, from improving diagnostic accuracy to expanding access in underserved regions. Despite this potential and growing investment, a significant gap persists between AI’s theoretical promise and its realised benefits in healthcare settings. This article examines the complex barriers impeding AI benefits realization in global health contexts, including ethical uncertainties, data infrastructure limitations, evidence quality concerns, and regulatory ambiguities. We analyze current initiatives addressing these challenges and highlight how technological solutions alone cannot resolve fundamental healthcare inequities. Drawing on the interdisciplinary perspectives and insights presented at the Global Health in the Age of AI Symposium hosted by the Cini Foundation and Yale Digital Ethics Center, we propose five core infrastructure requirements necessary for ethical AI implementation: robust data exchange; epistemic certainty with staff autonomy; actively protected healthcare values; validated outcomes with meaningful accountability; and environmental sustainability. These requirements form the foundation for a systems approach that balances technological advancement with ethical imperatives, contextual adaptability, and global equity considerations. We conclude that the successful integration of AI into healthcare demands coordinated action across sectors and borders, with careful attention to avoiding technological colonialism and ensuring AI serves as a force for health equity rather than widening existing disparities.

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Notes

  1. https://www.cini.it/en/eventi/global-health-in-the-age-of-ai-charting-a-course-for-ethical-implementation-and-societal-benefit/.

  2. These numbers are based on the TOP500 list which updates biannually, these numbers are from November 2024 https://top500.org/lists/top500/2024/11/.

  3. For example, those produced by US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA); UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA); China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA); Japan Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA); Australia Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA); and India Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO).

  4. The IMDRF includes regulatory authorities from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, Japan, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, and the US.

  5. This is 73% of the 98% of European member states that responded.

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Acknowledgements

This research is the outcome of the three-day symposium, entitled “Global Health in the Age of AI”, organised by the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, in collaboration with Yale’s Digital Ethics Center, on 7-9 November 2024, in the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. The authors are very grateful for the support they received from the Foundation

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Digital Ethics Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Jessica Morley, Emmie Hine, Renée Sirbu & Luciano Floridi

  2. Department of Legal Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Emmie Hine & Luciano Floridi

  3. Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Huw Roberts

  4. Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Hutan Ashrafian

  5. Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Charlotte Blease

  6. Digital Health, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA

    Charlotte Blease

  7. Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Marisha Boyd

  8. Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    John L. Chen

  9. AI Centre for Value Based Healthcare, London, UK

    John L. Chen

  10. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Alexandre Chiavegatto Filho

  11. Faculty of Medicine Health and Human Sciences, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

    Enrico Coiera

  12. Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Glenn I. Cohen

  13. Department of Preclinical Medicine, Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Amelia Fiske

  14. Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Nandini Jayakumar

  15. The Ethox Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Angeliki Kerasidou

  16. University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    Federica Mandreoli

  17. Australian Institute for Machine Learning, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Melissa D. McCradden

  18. Women’s and Children’s Health Network, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Melissa D. McCradden

  19. SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Melissa D. McCradden

  20. Hertie Institute for AI in Brain Health, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Stella Namuganza

  21. School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Elaine O. Nsoesie

  22. Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Ravi B. Parikh

  23. School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

    Sandeep Reddy

  24. Department of Informatics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Jana Sedlakova

  25. Digital Society Initiative, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Jana Sedlakova

  26. Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

    Tamara Sunbul

  27. Rathenau Instituut, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Sophie van Baalen

  28. Amsterdam Law School, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Hannah van Kolfschooten

Authors
  1. Jessica Morley
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  2. Emmie Hine
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  3. Huw Roberts
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  4. Renée Sirbu
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  5. Hutan Ashrafian
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  6. Charlotte Blease
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  7. Marisha Boyd
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  8. John L. Chen
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  9. Alexandre Chiavegatto Filho
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  10. Enrico Coiera
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  11. Glenn I. Cohen
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  12. Amelia Fiske
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  13. Nandini Jayakumar
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  14. Angeliki Kerasidou
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  15. Federica Mandreoli
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  16. Melissa D. McCradden
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  17. Stella Namuganza
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  18. Elaine O. Nsoesie
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  19. Ravi B. Parikh
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  20. Sandeep Reddy
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  21. Jana Sedlakova
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  22. Tamara Sunbul
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  23. Sophie van Baalen
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  24. Hannah van Kolfschooten
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  25. Luciano Floridi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica Morley.

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Morley, J., Hine, E., Roberts, H. et al. Global Health in the Age of AI: Charting a Course for Ethical Implementation and Societal Benefit. Minds & Machines 35, 31 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-025-09730-3

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