Medical Judgment and Ethical Responsibility in the Era of General Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) and artificial general intelligence (AGI) extends beyond diagnostic and therapeutic support in medicine and increasingly penetrates overall clinical decision-making. At the same time, owing to their high levels of accuracy and statistical persuasiveness, AI systems tend to acquire excessive authority over medical judgment. This tendency often manifests as an overreliance on AI and carries the risk of undermining the professional judgment, moral agency, and accountability of healthcare practitioners. Medical practice is not a merely technical activity but a bioethical endeavor oriented toward the dignity of the “persona” and the care of the whole person (cura personalis). Bioethical judgment and accountability, therefore, can be attributed only to human agents. Although AI can support medical decision-making through probabilistic recommendations, it is ontologically limited in that it cannot perform value-based medical judgments or exercise conscientious moral discernment. Consequently, AI attains bioethical legitimacy only insofar as it remains an auxiliary tool rather than a substitute for the judgment of medical professionals. Grounded in the principles of subsidiarity and accountability of healthcare personnel, medical practice in the era of AI can thus be preserved as a bioethical practice that integrates technical rationality within human bioethical deliberation and accountability.