Foundation models in medicine are a social experiment: time for an ethical framework.
expert_opinion · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40819001.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41746-025-01924-4 and PMC identifier 12357904.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Foundation models are rapidly integrated into medicine, offering opportunities and ethical challenges. Unlike traditional medical technologies, they often enter real-world use without rigorous testing or oversight. We argue that their use constitutes a social experiment. This perspective highlights the unpredictable and partly uncontrollable nature of foundation models. We propose an ethical framework to guide responsible implementation, focusing on conditions for responsible experimentation rather than unattainable full predictability.