Many experts have emphasised that chatbots are not sufficiently mature to be able to technically diagnose patient conditions or replace the judgements of health professionals. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has significantly increased the utilisation of health-oriented chatbots, for instance, as a conversational interface to answer questions, recommend care options, check symptoms and complete tasks such as booking appointments. In this paper, we take a proactive approach and consider how the emergence of task-oriented chatbots as partially automated consulting systems can influence clinical practices and expert–client relationships. We suggest the need for new approaches in professional ethics as the large-scale deployment of artificial intelligence may revolutionise professional decision-making and client–expert interaction in healthcare organisations. We argue that the implementation of chatbots amplifies the project of rationality and automation in clinical practice and alters traditional decision-making practices based on epistemic probability and prudence. This article contributes to the discussion on the ethical challenges posed by chatbots from the perspective of healthcare professional ethics.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, Health care, chatbot, Expertise, Professional ethics, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19 pandemic, Symptom, Probability, Health, healthcare, implementation, Patient, automated, Care, diagnose, Clinical practice, Healthcare professional, Interaction, Perspective, professionals, Complete, Alter, approach, significantly increased, amplify, condition, contribute, 【제목키워드】 Health, automated, Care,