ΒΙΗII614: Bioethics, Medical Ethics and Artificial Intelligence

This module is compulsory and common to both concentrations. It aims at the critical examination of the ethical, social, medical and institutional questions arising from the development and application of Artificial Intelligence systems in healthcare, medical research, public health and patient care. Within the framework of the module, the possibilities and risks of AI are examined in areas such as diagnosis, prognosis, clinical decision-making, personalised medicine, the processing of medical data, the management of health systems, telemedicine, medical research and the use of large language or multimodal models in healthcare practice. Particular emphasis is placed on issues of autonomy, informed consent, protection of personal and sensitive data, algorithmic bias, discrimination, transparency, explainability, accountability and the distribution of responsibility among the physician, the patient, the technologist, the healthcare institution and the AI system. The module also analyses how AI transforms the medical relationship, the concept of trust, the role of the healthcare professional and the limits of human judgement in clinical practice. The module approaches AI not as a neutral technical tool but as a technological and social phenomenon that affects human dignity, justice in access to health services, the protection of vulnerable groups and the democratic governance of medical innovation. The objective is for students to acquire the theoretical and practical background required for the ethical evaluation of AI applications in healthcare and for the formulation of responsible, human-centred and rights-based frameworks for their use.