Artificial intelligence in the service of medicine: current solutions and future perspectives, opportunities, and challenges

Objective: This article aims to identify the opportunities and risks of Artificial Intelligence tools (AIT) applied to clinical practice, while also reflecting on their impact on the doctor-patient relationship. Materials and methods: The authors conducted a systematic literature review following the PRISMA guidelines, selecting the period from 2019 to October 2024. Academic databases PubMed and Scopus were drawn upon by using the keywords and searchstrings "artificial intelligence", "healthcare", "informed consent", and "doctor-patient relationship" in titles, abstracts, and keywords. Results and discussion: AIT has proven useful in significantly reducing the time spent on bureaucratic tasks and minimizing errors compared to traditional medicine. However, their effectiveness is highly influenced by the quantity and quality of data used for training. Additionally, there is an issue with the transparency of the decision-making process because AIT and even their programmers are unable to explain their diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations. Therefore, human supervision of AI work is essential. Conclusions: The potential risks of AI for patient safety and personal data security necessitate that governments urge those involved in the production of AI tools to adhere to specific ethical standards developed with the participation of all stakeholders, including patients.