Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39899559›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Exploring ethical considerations in medical research: Harnessing pre-generated transformers for AI-powered ethics discussions.

Takuya Mori, Takuya Watanabe, Shinji Kosugi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Ethical Challenges in Research Involving Hospitalized Patients: A Phenomenological Study.Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy · 2025
    Article
  2. 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

3 authors.

Takuya MoriDepartment of Ethics Support, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-7004-7179
Takuya WatanabeDepartment of Ethics Support, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto, Japan.
Shinji KosugiDepartment of Ethics Support, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionIn medical research involving human subjects, ethical review is essential to protect individuals. However, concerns have been raised about variations in ethical review opinions and a decline in review quality. Adequately protecting human subjects requires multifaceted opinions from ethics committee members. Despite the need to increase the number of committee members, resources are limited. To address these challenges, we explored the use of a generative pre- learning transformer, an interactive artificial intelligence (AI) tool, to discuss ethical issues in medical research.

methodsThe generation AI used in the research used ChatGPT3.5, which has learned ethical guidelines from various countries worldwide. We requested the generative AI to provide insights on ethical considerations for virtual research involving individuals. The obtained answers were documented and verified by experts.

resultsThe AI successfully highlighted considerations for informed consent regarding individuals with dementia and mental illness, as well as concerns about invasiveness in research. It also raised points about potential side effects of off-label drug use. However, it could not offer specific measures for psychological considerations or broader ethical issues, providing limited ethical insights. This limitation may be attributed to biased opinions resulting from machine learning optimization, preventing comprehensive identification of certain ethical issues.

conclusionAlthough the validity of ethical opinions generated by the generative AI requires further examination, our findings suggest that this technology could be employed to prompt reviews and re-evaluate ethical concerns arising in research.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligenceBiomedical ResearchHumansInformed Consent

Identifiers

PMID39899559
PMCPMC11790142

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.