Record STMT-WED152FAdvisory

Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health: WHO guidance

Guidelines International lawGlobaladopted

This document provides comprehensive guidance from the World Health Organization on the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health. It outlines six core ethical principles to guide the design and use of AI, including protecting human autonomy, promoting well-being and safety, ensuring transparency, fostering responsibility, ensuring inclusiveness, and promoting sustainability. The guidance also addresses ethical challenges, regulatory considerations, data governance, and liability regimes.

Summary and content fields are drawn from the document text and are pending editorial review.

Who issued it

World Health OrganizationIntergovernmental

Lead issuer

Legal forceAdvisory

Under whose authorityInternational law

Judged fromfull text

Who it governs

National governmentRegulatorsPublic sector bodiesCompaniesAI developers and providersAI deployers and usersResearchers and academics

Ministries of health, regulatory agencies, AI technology developers, researchers, and health-care providers seeking ethical guidance on AI in health.

Sectors

Healthcare · artificial intelligence for health and medicineResearch and science · health research and drug development

What the document contains

What's covered

The document addresses the applications of artificial intelligence in clinical care, health research, drug development, health systems management, and public health surveillance. It details key ethical principles, ethical challenges such as bias, privacy, and accountability, and outlines frameworks for data governance, private sector oversight, and regulatory considerations.

What's missing

Specific country-level implementing legislation and binding legal statutes, as the document provides international normative guidance rather than enforceable domestic laws.

Key takeaways

Artificial intelligence holds immense promise for health care, public health, and medicine, but it introduces novel ethical and governance challenges.
Human autonomy must be protected by ensuring that humans remain in full control of health systems and medical decisions.
AI technologies must be transparent, explainable, and intelligible to developers, medical professionals, patients, and regulators.
Data governance frameworks must protect privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent while preventing data bias and discrimination.
Governments, developers, and health providers must collaborate to ensure inclusive, equitable, and sustainable implementation of AI technologies.

Principles it states

Protect autonomyPromote human well-being, human safety and the public interestEnsure transparency, explainability and intelligibilityFoster responsibility and accountabilityEnsure inclusiveness and equityPromote artificial intelligence that is responsive and sustainable

Outline

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations and acronyms
Executive summary
1. Introduction
2. Artificial intelligence
3. Applications of artificial intelligence for health
4. Laws, policies and principles that apply to use of artificial intelligence for health
5. Key ethical principles for use of artificial intelligence for health
6. Ethical challenges to use of artificial intelligence for health care
7. Building an ethical approach to use of artificial intelligence for health
8. Liability regimes for artificial intelligence for health
9. Elements of a framework for governance of artificial intelligence for health
References
Annex

Issued2021

Length69,574 words · 165 pages

FormatNot recorded

Scopeglobal

How it scores

Pending review

Each score is backed by a quote verified against the document text. Editorial review has not yet confirmed them.

Accountability

4/5

Clear responsibility for AI outcomes

Appropriate mechanisms should be adopted to ensure questioning by and redress for individuals and groups adversely affected by algorithmically informed decisions.

5.4

screening score · 2026-10-23

Fairness

4/5

Non-discrimination and equitable treatment

AI technology, like any other technology, should be shared as widely as possible. AI technologies should be available for use not only in contexts and for needs in high-income settings but also in the contexts and for the capacity and diversity of LMIC.

Executive Summary

screening score · 2026-10-23

Human Dignity

5/5

Respect for the inherent worth of persons

Human dignity and the inherent worth of humans are the central values upon which all other ethical principles rest.

screening score · 2026-10-23

Human Oversight

4/5

Humans remain in control of consequential decisions

In the context of health care, this means that humans should remain in full control of health-care systems and medical decisions.

5.1

screening score · 2026-10-23

Privacy

4/5

Protection of personal data and private life

Respect for autonomy also entails the related duties to protect privacy and confidentiality and to ensure informed, valid consent by adopting appropriate legal frameworks for data protection.

5.1

screening score · 2026-10-23

Transparency

4/5

Openness about how AI systems work and are used

Transparency requires that sufficient information be published or documented before the design or deployment of an AI technology and that such information facilitate meaningful public consultation and debate on how the technology is designed and how it should or should not be used.

Executive Summary

screening score · 2026-10-23

Enforcement

3/5

Consequences and compliance mechanisms with real force

South Africa, which introduced a data protection regime for the first time in July 2020 with enactment of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4, will introduce enforcement in mid-2021 through several means, including administrative fines that could exceed US$ 500 000 and also civil cases and criminal liability

4.2

screening score · 2026-10-23

Topics

artificial_intelligence ethics healthcare governance human_rights