Artificial intelligence, nutrition, and ethical issues: A mini-review

Abstract

Summary: Background and aims: Artificial intelligence (AI) has expanded applications in both medicine and biomedical sciences, focusing on medical diagnosis, risk prediction of disease onset, support of therapeutic techniques, and other subjects. In parallel, several applications in nutrition have been developed, such as microbiota/genes-diet interactions, investigation of diet-disease relationships, chatbots for lifestyle intervention, dietary assessment with food photographs, and food composition applications. Methods: The positive aspects and ethical concerns were analyzed regarding the use of AI in nutrition. Results: In general, AI should do no harm and contribute to human well-being, while AI professionals should be honest, trustful, and fair. Privacy and confidentiality should be protected. Other concerns include the “dehumanization” of care, social disparities, responsibility assignment in case of errors or malfunctions, and bias in training models and delivering care. Moreover, the prediction of disease onset in high-risk individuals may be connected to stigma, over-medicalization, and stress. There is also a serious concern that AI systems in the field of nutrition and dietetics may cause a partial replacement of dietitians; however, health professionals can use such technologies as part of their work. The use of AI applications for persons with mental diseases or eating disorders is also crucial. Conclusion: In conclusion, AI-assisted personalized nutrition needs further justification, while the regulatory framework requires a constant update to keep up with scientific advancements and address ethical issues. Coordinated global focus on these domains could effectively lead to a more embraced AI implementation in individuals and populations.

Keywords

• Artificial intelligence
• Nutrition
• Ethics
• Lifestyle intervention
• Dietary assessment
• Dietitian