Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Sci Eng Ethics. 2021 May 28;27(3):34. doi: 10.1007/s11948-021-00313-w.
Big Data has amplified some challenges in the healthcare context. One significant challenge is how to use healthcare big data (HBD) in ways that honor individual rights to informed consent or privacy. Careful analysis from diverse backgrounds will be vital in contributing ethical guidelines that can adequately address healthcare Big Data's growing complexities globally. Especially, the study argues that an under-explored African philosophy of Ubuntu can usefully influence big data practices in ways that address this challenge without undermining its benefits. Ubuntu emphasizes harmonious relationships. Harmonious relations entail identifying with one another and exhibiting solidarity to each other. One can identify or exhibit solidarity with others through psychological attitudes such as thinking of oneself as part of a "we" and acting in ways that will more likely improve the quality of life of others. The African relational philosophy of Ubuntu deserves to be given an audience not only for epistemic justice but also because the continued absence of African perspective in the discourse on ethical use of HBD science represents a missed opportunity to enrich ethical thinking about HBD from diverse backgrounds. Research is, however, required to provide greater specificity on how Ubuntu values may be integrated into HBD analytic techniques.
大数据放大了医疗保健环境中的一些挑战。一个重大挑战是如何以尊重个人知情同意权或隐私权的方式使用医疗保健大数据 (HBD)。来自不同背景的仔细分析对于制定道德准则至关重要，这些准则可以充分应对全球医疗保健大数据日益复杂的问题。特别是，该研究认为，乌班图（Ubuntu）这种非洲哲学思想可以在不损害其益处的情况下，以有用的方式影响大数据实践，从而解决这一挑战。乌班图强调和谐的关系。和谐的关系需要相互认同，并表现出团结。一个人可以通过心理态度来认同或表现出团结，例如将自己视为“我们”的一部分，并采取更有可能提高他人生活质量的行动。非洲关系哲学乌班图不仅应该因其认识论正义而受到关注，而且还因为在关于 HBD 科学的伦理使用的论述中继续缺乏非洲视角，这代表了从不同背景丰富有关 HBD 的伦理思维的一个错失的机会。然而，需要进行研究，以提供更具体的信息，说明如何将 Ubuntu 的价值观整合到 HBD 分析技术中。
