The World Health Organisation has designated the Digital Ethics Centre at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands as its collaborating centre on artificial intelligence for health governance.

Delft University of Technology is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university.

WHO said AI could reshape health care, save lives and improve health and well-being.

However, harnessing its benefits for good requires collaboration from stakeholders committed to robust governance, ethical safeguards, and evidence-based policies, according to a recent statement by the health organisation.

It said the WHO collaborating centre designation recognises the Digital Ethics Centre at Delft University of Technology’s decades-long history of cutting-edge research on responsible innovation and its leadership in incorporating ethical values into design requirements for digital technologies.

The inauguration, it said, marked the continuation of a strong partnership between the Digital Ethics Centre and WHO, with the two entities jointly organizing international consultations, workshops, and the development of normative guidance and training in the past.

Alain Labrique, the director of Digital Health and Innovation at the WHO, said the organisation is committed to helping Member States plan, govern, and adopt responsible AI technologies.

According to him, the collaborating centre on AI for health governance will be instrumental in WHO’s efforts to ensure AI’s ethical and responsible use for health.

He said it would be done by advancing research on priority topics and providing expert input for WHO’s guidance development and policy-making.

Mr Labrique said the centre would serve as a hub for education and advocacy for science-driven research and facilitate knowledge-sharing and training through regional and country-level workshops.

Jeroen Hoven, the scientific director at Delft Digital Ethics Centre, said that the fruit of two decades of research in digital ethics and responsible innovation, the centre was one of the frontrunners in operationalising ethical values into design requirements for digital technologies such as artificial intelligence.

According to him, the Responsible and Ethical AI for Healthcare Lab, a collaboration between Delft University of Technology and its partners, will provide valuable insight into the challenges involved in the successful implementation of WHO guidance in clinical practice.

(NAN)