"Artificial Intelligence in Psychiatry"

by Fakhoury, Marc (2019)

Abstract

Scientific findings over the past few decades have shaped our understanding of the underlying neurobiology associated with psychiatric illnesses. However, despite significant advances in research, there is widespread disappointment with the overall pace of progress in detecting and treating psychiatric disorders. Current approaches for the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders largely rely on physician-patient questionnaires that are most of the time inaccurate and ineffective in providing a reliable assessment of symptoms. These limitations can, however, be overcome by applying artificial intelligence (AI) to electronic medical database and health records. AI in psychiatry is a general term that implies the use of computerized techniques and algorithms for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental illnesses. Although the past few years have witnessed an increase in the use of AI in the medical practice, its role in psychiatry remains a complex and unanswered question. This chapter provides the current state of knowledge of AI's use in the diagnosis, prediction, and treatment of psychiatric disorders, and examines the challenges and limitations of this approach in the medical practise.

Key Passage

Notwithstanding their numerous advantages, interventions that are based on AI techniques carry risks and limitations. For instance, treatment plans that rely on computerized techniques do not implement full psychiatric evaluations and do not display the emphatic concern and emotional awareness of physicians. As a result, individuals who only rely on AI-based interventions are often discouraged to pursue treatment. Another major concern is that the majority of the studies on AI-based interventions have been conducted by their developers who want to demonstrate the effcacy of their product with personal fnancial stake in the outcome. Finally, the implementation of AI-based treatments may face several ethical concerns regarding patient safety and privacy and could lead to a rise in unemployment in the feld of psychiatry. (p.123)

Keywords

Artificial Intelligence, Diagnosis, Language Processing, Machine Learning, Psychiatric Disorders

Themes

AI and Counselling, Automation

Links to Reference

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9721-0_6
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31705492
• https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9721-0_6
• https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-32-9721-0_6
• https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marc-Fakhoury-2/publication/337138251_Artificial_Intelligence_in_Psychiatry/links/5df15c34299bf10bc3545302/Artificial-Intelligence-in-Psychiatry.pdf

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