Penn Medicine has agreed to follow the White House's commitments to regulate and maintain the transparent use of artificial intelligence in health care.
In December 2023, the White House outlined five commitments addressing concerns about the implementation of AI in the medical field. Penn Med voluntarily signed on the order along with several major healthcare organizations including CVS Health, John Muir Health, Duke Health, and Boston Children’s Hospital, among others.
The agreement focuses on the accessibility, safety, integrity, risk management, and development of AI in healthcare. Thirty-eight organizations have joined the White House commitments, vowing to gear AI technology towards improving healthcare affordability and equity.
Participating organizations must develop plans to mitigate application risks, implement trust mechanisms to ensure safe and effective patient experiences, and conduct AI research in a responsible manner. The voluntary commitments also include a pledge to ensure that outcomes align with fair, appropriate, valid, effective, and safe AI principles.
"We are committed to pursuing these once in a generation innovations and benefits while mitigating risks and protecting patient information," Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy, Development, and Information Officer for Independence Blue Cross Mike Vennera told PR Newswire.
The rapid emergence and development of AI has prompted federal efforts to mitigate the technology's risks while supporting its potential benefits. In October 2023, President Joe Biden signed an executive order establishing new standards for AI safety and security. Actions outlined in the order included protecting Americans from the risks of AI-engineered biological materials and AI-enabled fraud and deception.
Penn has responded to developments and the growing relevance of AI technology. In November 2023, the University released a set of new guidelines governing the use of AI and machine learning in the classroom, stating that the policies would be updated as the technology evolved.
In February, Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science announced that it would begin offering a bachelor's degree in artificial intelligence — the first undergraduate degree of its kind in the Ivy League.
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