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. 2024 Jul 23:10:20552076241260407.
doi: 10.1177/20552076241260407. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.

Stakeholder perspectives on ethical and trustworthy voice AI in health care

Jean-Christophe Bélisle-Pipon  1 , Maria Powell  2 , Renee English  1 , Marie-Françoise Malo  1 , Vardit Ravitsky  3   4 ; Bridge2AI–Voice Consortium; Yael Bensoussan  5
Affiliations

Stakeholder perspectives on ethical and trustworthy voice AI in health care

Jean-Christophe Bélisle-Pipon et al. Digit Health. .

Abstract

Objective: Voice as a health biomarker using artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining momentum in research. The noninvasiveness of voice data collection through accessible technology (such as smartphones, telehealth, and ambient recordings) or within clinical contexts means voice AI may help address health disparities and promote the inclusion of marginalized communities. However, the development of AI-ready voice datasets free from bias and discrimination is a complex task. The objective of this study is to better understand the perspectives of engaged and interested stakeholders regarding ethical and trustworthy voice AI, to inform both further ethical inquiry and technology innovation.

Methods: A questionnaire was administered to voice AI experts, clinicians, scholars, patients, trainees, and policy-makers who participated at the 2023 Voice AI Symposium organized by the Bridge2AI-Voice AI Consortium. The survey used a mix of Likert scale, ranking and open-ended questions. A total of 27 stakeholders participated in the study.

Results: The main results of the study are the identification of priorities in terms of ethical issues, an initial definition of ethically sourced data for voice AI, insights into the use of synthetic voice data, and proposals for acting on the trustworthiness of voice AI. The study shows a diversity of perspectives and adds nuance to the planning and development of ethical and trustworthy voice AI.

Conclusions: This study represents the first stakeholder survey related to voice as a biomarker of health published to date. This study sheds light on the critical importance of ethics and trustworthiness in the development of voice AI technologies for health applications.

Keywords: AI in medicine; biomarkers; data collection; ethical considerations; health data; health disparities; inclusivity; telehealth; trustworthiness; voice AI.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Sociodemographics of the Voice AI Symposium participants. (a) Gender distribution. (b) Stakeholder Group. (c) Country. (d) U.S. state or Canadian provinces (BC, ON, QC).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Survey's respondents’ roles and relationship to voice AI. (a) Respondents’ roles (multiple choice, so people may have more than one role). (b) Relationship to Voice AI (limited to 1 per respondent).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Stakeholders’ perceptions on Voice AI's usefulness and impacts, its impact on health inequities, and its trustworthiness.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Word cloud of terms participants associate with trustworthy Voice AI.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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