Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36414774›Full record

ArticleCommunications medicine2022

Mitigating the impact of biased artificial intelligence in emergency decision-making.

Hammaad Adam, Aparna Balagopalan, Emily Alsentzer, Fotini Christia, Marzyeh Ghassemi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. AI applications in disaster governance with health approach: A scoping review.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Warning people about the risk of AI error mitigates human acquisition of AI bias.Cognitive research: principles and implications · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Hammaad AdamInstitute for Data Systems and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. hadam@mit.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6910-7074
Aparna BalagopalanDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1621-9536
Emily AlsentzerHarvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
Fotini ChristiaInstitute for Data Systems and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1076-9879
Marzyeh GhassemiDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPrior research has shown that artificial intelligence (AI) systems often encode biases against minority subgroups. However, little work has focused on ways to mitigate the harm discriminatory algorithms can cause in high-stakes settings such as medicine.

methodsIn this study, we experimentally evaluated the impact biased AI recommendations have on emergency decisions, where participants respond to mental health crises by calling for either medical or police assistance. We recruited 438 clinicians and 516 non-experts to participate in our web-based experiment. We evaluated participant decision-making with and without advice from biased and unbiased AI systems. We also varied the style of the AI advice, framing it either as prescriptive recommendations or descriptive flags.

resultsParticipant decisions are unbiased without AI advice. However, both clinicians and non-experts are influenced by prescriptive recommendations from a biased algorithm, choosing police help more often in emergencies involving African-American or Muslim men. Crucially, using descriptive flags rather than prescriptive recommendations allows respondents to retain their original, unbiased decision-making.

conclusionsOur work demonstrates the practical danger of using biased models in health contexts, and suggests that appropriately framing decision support can mitigate the effects of AI bias. These findings must be carefully considered in the many real-world clinical scenarios where inaccurate or biased models may be used to inform important decisions.

Identifiers

PMID36414774
PMCPMC9681767

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.