The NAACP is appealing for the “equity-first” development of healthcare AI, ensuring the technology reduces and doesn’t widen health disparities.
The civil rights organization partnered with pharma giant Sanofi to release a whitepaper Dec. 11 outlining how to fuse “fairness, transparency and community engagement” in every step of the healthcare AI process, including data collection, deployment and oversight.
“As a physician, I’ve seen what happens when systems are built without the people they are meant to serve,” said Chris Pernell, MD, director of the NAACP Center for Health Equity, in a news release. “AI can transform patient care, but only if it reflects the real lives and experiences of our communities. When Black, brown and underserved patients are missing from the data, they are missing from the solutions. Health AI must be built with dignity, transparency, and centered on the communities it’s meant to benefit.”
