The reparations panel in California has cautioned about the presence of medical AI that is biased towards race and has called for legislative measures to address the issue.

The reparations task force in California has suggested a series of measures to compensate for slavery and discrimination against Black people, including a proposal for state legislators to tackle the issue of "racially biased" artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector.
The group, established through a state law that was approved by the Governor.
Last weekend, Gavin Newsom approved the final recommendations for 2020 and submitted them to the California Legislature for consideration. The Legislature will determine whether to pass the measures and send them to the governor for approval.
The suggestions put forward involve various ideas regarding healthcare, including those related to medical artificial intelligence (AI), which the task force characterizes as having racial bias and contributing to purported systemic racism against Black Californians. The task force specifically recommends that the legislature allocate funds to either state universities or government agencies to investigate the possibility of harmful biases in medical AI.
The California Reparations Committee has proposed that mandatory "anti-bias" training be required for medical school graduation. The committee suggests that state funding be provided to study potential harmful biases in commercial algorithms and AI-enabled medical devices, and to recommend regulations for medical AI tools in California. This is outlined in the committee's final report.
The report recommends investigating the use of devices and tools that suggest adjusting patients' treatment or medication based on general racial categories, without considering genetic or socio-cultural factors. The task force refers to a paper by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) multiple times.
The article presents instances of alleged racial discrimination in medical AI, such as a tool designed to allocate extra care to new mothers at risk of postpartum depression, which the ACLU claims favored White mothers and neglected Black mothers. The reparations committee in California suggests that the state's Department of Public Health should provide guidance to medical systems to prevent the misuse of AI-enabled medical devices, including using them without FDA approval, on unintended patient populations, or outside of their intended use cases. This recommendation is also mentioned in the ACLU paper.
The task force is requesting that the California Department of Public Health create a public list of SaMD products and provide information about the subjects they were calibrated or trained on. Another proposal is to provide funding and positions to the California Department of Justice to pursue claims against AI medical device manufacturers if their products have a "disparate impact" or make misleading promises. Despite this, new AI tools have been beneficial for medical professionals in treating patients.
An example of a tool is RestoreU, which assists doctors in developing customized treatment plans for individuals with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.
Doctors have reportedly been able to enhance patient outcomes, work more effectively, and lower expenses by using DAX Express, a tool that simplifies the note-taking process.
The California Reparations Task Force is advocating for various contentious health-related measures, including making "anti-bias training" compulsory and requiring a test based on that training as a prerequisite for medical school graduation, in addition to AI.
To obtain health "equity" for Black residents in California, the task force is advocating for a universal, single-payer healthcare system. Access the FOX News app by clicking here.