Flores Lidia, Young Sean D
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA USA.
Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine, CA USA.
Minds Mach (Dordr). 2022;32(4):759-768. doi: 10.1007/s11023-022-09610-0. Epub 2022 Aug 25.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its related policies (e.g., stay at home and social distancing orders) have increased people's use of digital technology, such as social media. Researchers have, in turn, utilized artificial intelligence to analyze social media data for public health surveillance. For example, through machine learning and natural language processing, they have monitored social media data to examine public knowledge and behavior. This paper explores the ethical considerations of using artificial intelligence to monitor social media to understand the public's perspectives and behaviors surrounding COVID-19, including potential risks and benefits of an AI-driven approach. Importantly, investigators and ethics committees have a role in ensuring that researchers adhere to ethical principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice in a way that moves science forward while ensuring public safety and confidence in the process.
新冠疫情及其相关政策（如居家令和社交距离规定）增加了人们对数字技术的使用，比如社交媒体。相应地，研究人员利用人工智能分析社交媒体数据以进行公共卫生监测。例如，通过机器学习和自然语言处理，他们监测社交媒体数据来研究公众的知识和行为。本文探讨了利用人工智能监测社交媒体以了解公众对新冠疫情的看法和行为所涉及的伦理考量，包括人工智能驱动方法的潜在风险和益处。重要的是，调查人员和伦理委员会在确保研究人员以推动科学发展同时确保过程中的公共安全和公众信任的方式遵守尊重人、行善和公正等伦理原则方面发挥着作用。
