To put it simply, artificial intelligence in healthcare is an overarching term used to describe the use of AI to mimic human cognition in the analysis, presentation, and comprehension of complex medical and health care data. Although the concrete applications of AI to healthcare are diverse (e.g. using AI to efficiently diagnose and reduce error; making more accurate and earlier cancer diagnosis with AI; developing new medicines with AI), it is possible to consider that the primary aim of health-related AI applications is to analyze relationships between prevention or treatment techniques and patient outcomes.

At the same time, despite or because of all these promises, AI in healthcare raises several unprecedented ethical concerns related to its practice such as data privacy, automation of jobs, and representation biases. In this context, it is important to mobilize researchers in social sciences in order to discuss, criticize and compare the uses of AI in healthcare, together with stakeholders, patients, doctors, policy makers, and the industry. Moreover, given the differences across countries, it is essential to adopt an international and comparative perspective. From the European viewpoint, it is particularly interesting to look at the Japan, where the applications of AI to healthcare are numerous and promising, while the social and ethical debates on this are lively.

These are the major purposes of this event, which is the second symposium of the French-German Dialogue on Japan, a joint initiative by JDZB and FFJ. It will discuss the topic of AI and health care, by bringing together trilateral perspectives, research findings, and hands-on experience by panelists from academia and business.
The session 1 will deal with the discussion on the innovative character or expected innovations by AI in health care from the perspectives of health professionals, the private sector, and policy makers, while the session 2 will tackle the issues of social and ethical aspects of AI in health care.