Urgent Need for Ethical Oversight of Therapeutic Voice AI
A Simon Fraser University researcher is emphasizing the need for ethical, legal, and social oversight of voice artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical settings, particularly in therapeutic care.
Voice AI analyzes vocal patterns to detect signs of physical, cognitive, and mental health conditions based on vocal qualities like pitch, jitter, fluency, and specific words used.
Voice AI has been dubbed "the new blood" of healthcare due to its potential as a biomarker.
Researcher Zoha Khawaja, a member of the Bridge2AI Voice Consortium, explores the potential and perils of voice-based AI apps in mental health in her thesis paper.
- Khawaja's study gathered insights from 13 stakeholders, including clinicians, ethicists, and patients, using structured, multi-round surveys.
Author's summary: Expert urges caution with voice AI in healthcare.