WHO warns against bias, misinformation in using AI in health care

AI Artificial Intelligence words are seen in this illustration taken, May 4, 2023. (Reuters)
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Updated 16 May 2023
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WHO warns against bias, misinformation in using AI in health care

  • The WHO said it was enthusiastic about the potential of AI but had concerns over how it will be used to improve access to health information

The World Health Organization called for caution on Tuesday in using artificial intelligence for public health care, saying data used by AI to reach decisions could be biased or misused.
The WHO said it was enthusiastic about the potential of AI but had concerns over how it will be used to improve access to health information, as a decision-support tool and to improve diagnostic care.
The WHO said in a statement the data used to train AI may be biased and generate misleading or inaccurate information and the models can be misused to generate disinformation.
It was “imperative” to assess the risks of using generated large language model tools (LLMs), like ChatGPT, to protect and promote human wellbeing and protect public health, the UN health body said.
Its cautionary note comes as artificial intelligence applications are rapidly gaining in popularity, highlighting a technology that could upend the way businesses and society operate.


Over 1,400 Indonesians left Cambodian scam groups in five days: embassy

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Over 1,400 Indonesians left Cambodian scam groups in five days: embassy

  • Scammers working from hubs across Southeast Asia lure Internet users globally into fake romances and cryptocurrency investments
  • Some foreign nationals have evacuated suspected scam compounds across Cambodia this month
PHNOM PENH: More than 1,400 Indonesians have left cyberscam networks in Cambodia in the last five days, Jakarta said on Wednesday, after Phnom Penh pledged a fresh crackdown on the illicit trade.
Scammers working from hubs across Southeast Asia, some willingly and others trafficked, lure Internet users globally into fake romances and cryptocurrency investments, netting tens of billions of dollars each year.
Some foreign nationals have evacuated suspected scam compounds across Cambodia this month as the government pledged to “eliminate” problems related to the online fraud industry, which the United Nations says employs at least 100,000 people in Cambodia alone.
Between January 16-20, 1,440 Indonesians left sites operated by online scam syndicates around Cambodia and went to the Indonesian embassy in Phnom Penh for help, the mission said in a statement.
The “largest wave of arrivals” occurred on Monday when 520 Indonesians came to the embassy, it said.
Recent Cambodian law enforcement measures against scam operators meant more citizens would likely continue showing up at the embassy, it added.
“The main problem for them is that they do not possess passports and they are staying in Cambodia without valid immigration permits,” according to the embassy.
It urged Indonesians leaving scam sites to report to the embassy, which could assist them with securing travel documents and overstay fine waivers in order to return home.
Indonesia said this week that its embassy in Phnom Penh handled more than 5,000 consular service cases for citizens in Cambodia last year — more than 80 percent of which were related to Indonesians who “admitted to being involved with online scam syndicates.”
Cambodia arrested and deported Chinese-born tycoon Chen Zhi, accused of running Internet scam operations from Cambodia, to China this month.
Chen, a former adviser to Cambodia’s leaders, was indicted by US authorities in October.
Analysts say Chen’s extradition has left some of those running Internet scams from Cambodia fearing legal consequences — after the criminal enterprises ballooned for years — with some operators opting to release people or evacuate their compounds.