Liability issues for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care as a home assistance tool

Summary

Liability issues for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care as a home assistance tool

Mélanie Bourassa Forcier, LL.L. (summa cum laude, Ottawa), LL.B. (Montreal), M.Sc. (London School of Economics), D.C.L. (McGill), Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Sherbrooke.

Lara Khoury Ad.E., LL.B. (Sherb.), BCL (Oxon), DPhil (Oxon), Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, McGill University.

Nathalie Vézina B.C.L., LL.B. (McGill), D.E.A. (Strasbourg), Doctorate in Comparative Law (Paris II), Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Sherbrooke.

ABSTRACT: This paper reviews the liability issues surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as an assistance tool at home and investigates how the Canadian legal framework addresses these issues. It also explores whether an alternative approach to existing liability regimes should be adopted to promote AI innovation based on recognized best practices and, in turn, increase the use of AI technology in healthcare delivery.

SUBMITTED: 22 MAR 2022 | PUBLISHED: 29 APR 2022

DISCLOSURE: None declared.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:  Professor Bourassa Forcier worked in collaboration with Gaëlle Feruzi Salimata, Mathieu Kiriakos, Siobhan Mullan and Dary-Anne Tourangeau, research assistants. The authors are grateful for the review and helpful comments provided by Adam Allouba, from Dentons on an earlier draft. This article was made possible by an Age-Well grant for the SMART (Socially Mobile Assistive Robots for Telecare and Daily Activities of Older Adults) project led by Pr. François Michaud. We would also like to thank him warmly for his comments. The research leading to this article was also funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

CITATION: Bourassa Forcier, Mélanie et al (2022). Liability issues for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care as a home assistance tool. Canadian Health Policy, APR 2022. ISSN 2562-9492, https://doi.org/10.54194/NSPX3994, www.canadianhealthpolicy.com