The European branch of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare could compromise patients’ health and privacy, amid a sharp rise in AI adoption in Europe.
Elsewhere, Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has opened its largest AI infrastructure center outside the United States, in Taiwan, as the battle for AI supremacy with China intensifies.
WHO: AI in healthcare puts privacy and security at risk
In its first report map the integration of AI in healthcareWHO Europe found that while uptake is high, it is uneven. In some areas, such as diagnostics and patient-facing chatbots, adoption is high across the 50 countries the organization studies.
There is less use of AI in prognosis prediction, symptom checking and surgery, the study, jointly funded by the European Union, found.
Although still in its infancy, the technology has brought benefits such as improved patient care and reduced burden on overworked healthcare workers in most of the countries studied. It has also reduced health care inequities, increased efficiency and reduced costs.
However, AI poses significant riskssays the WHO. One of them is the low quality of training data, which leads to biased or dangerous results. Given the sensitivity of healthcare information, the organization warns that AI also leaves patients vulnerable to privacy violations; only 20% of the countries surveyed have guidelines for the use of data in AI.
Over-reliance on AI by doctors also poses a risk to patients. This situation is exacerbated by limited infrastructure in most countries and insufficient training data, which can lead to poor treatment suggestions and unsafe clinical practices.
But even without the technical challenges, AI Adoption in healthcare must overcome a trust barrier that keeps many potential users at bay. The WHO found that most respondents are still reluctant to have AI involved in impactful health processes and decisions.
The technology’s track record in other industries, where it has shown bias against certain groups, further reinforces distrust.
The WHO stressed that governments must implement policies that better protect their citizens; Currently, only 28% of surveyed countries have ethical guidelines for AI companies.
“Gaps in legal accountability, uneven investments in workforce development, and emerging risks of exclusion underscore the need for continued vigilance, cooperation, and learning. » commented Hans Henri Kluge, regional director of WHO Europe.
“Fairness must remain our guiding principle, ensuring that the benefits of AI extend not only across Member States but also within them, reaching all communities regardless of geography, income or digital capabilities. »
WHO Europe joins dozens of other organizations and world leaders calling for better regulation of the integration of AI into healthcare.
Pope Leo XIV recently called on healthcare professionals to use AI responsibly and respect human dignity.
“If AI is to serve human dignity and the effective delivery of healthcare, we must ensure that it truly improves both interpersonal relationships and the care provided,” he said. declared.
Google opens largest overseas AI center in Taiwan
Elsewhere, Google opened a new hardware engineering center in Taiwan, its largest AI infrastructure operation outside the United States
The California-based tech giant has identified the East Asian country’s tech talent and supply chain expertise as its key pull factors. Taiwan is home to some of the world’s largest chipmakers, led by TSMC (NASDAQ:TSM), the world’s largest semiconductor foundry. TSMC supplies each other major chip designer worldwide, including Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and AMD (NASDAQ:AMD).
“It’s not just an investment in an office, it’s an investment in an ecosystem.” commented Aamer Mahmood, Google Cloud vice president of platform infrastructure engineering.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said the investment cements the country’s position as a “critical part of the global technology supply chain.”
The new center comes at a time when the United States is heavily courting Taiwan as a key ally in its battle for AI supremacy with China. The Trump administration’s biggest weapon has been to suspend exports of advanced AI chips to China, making Taiwan a key part of its strategy.
For Google, the new center comes as the battle for AI chips shifts to Nvidia. The search engine giant recently sign mega-deal to supply one million chips to Anthropic and insiders say Meta (NASDAQ:META) could spend billions on Google chips in 2026.
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See: AI is a double-edged sword