Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping healthcare by offering remarkable capabilities in diagnostics, decision-making, and patient care. Recent research published in JAMA Network Open demonstrated that large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, can outperform human physicians in diagnostic tasks under controlled scenarios (Hswen & Rubin, 2024). This potential has sparked enthusiasm, yet concerns about ethical implications and limitations remain prominent. For Muslims, integrating AI with a tawhidic (unity-based) approach offers an opportunity to align healthcare practices with a divine purpose, emphasising the spiritual connection AI cannot replicate.
The capabilities of AI in healthcare
AI systems excel in tasks requiring large-scale data analysis, offering diagnostic insights, synthesising medical literature, and recommending treatments. LLMs have even displayed a surprising ability to simulate empathy in patient interactions. In fact, recent studies revealed that AI-generated responses were rated as more empathetic than those of human physicians in some cases (Hswen & Rubin, 2024). This demonstrates AI’s potential as a tool to support clinicians in delivering more effective and thoughtful care.
However, AI lacks the moral agency and contextual understanding of human doctors. Machines can sound competent and compassionate, but they do not possess the lived experience or ethical consciousness required for genuine patient engagement. For Muslim clinicians, this underscores the need to approach care with the understanding that true healing combines technical expertise with spiritual accountability.
Concerns and challenges of AI in healthcare
While AI shows great promise, it also introduces risks. One major issue is hallucination—where AI generates false but convincing information. For example, in the JAMA Network Open trial, doctors using AI often misinterpreted its outputs because they did not fully understand its limitations (Hswen & Rubin, 2024).
Ethical concerns around patient privacy, algorithmic bias, and the potential for over-reliance on AI are also significant. Without careful integration, AI could erode critical clinical skills, reducing the human aspect of medicine to mere transactional interactions. For Muslims, this disconnect from the soul underscores why technology must serve as a complement to human care, rather than a replacement.
Steps to prevent hallucination in AI responses
To minimise the risks of relying on hallucinated AI outputs, healthcare professionals should:
1. Cross-Reference Outputs: Validate AI-generated insights against trusted clinical resources such as PubMed or established guidelines.
2. Request Citations: Ensure AI provides sources for its claims and scrutinise their accuracy.
3. Use Clinical Judgment: Apply personal expertise to evaluate the plausibility of AI recommendations.
4. Collaborate: Seek input from peers or subject matter experts when faced with critical decisions.
These measures align with both scientific rigour and the Islamic principle of amanah (trustworthiness), ensuring that AI enhances, rather than jeopardises, patient care.
Tawhidic approaches in medicine
For Muslims, healthcare is not merely a technical practice but a sacred trust that aligns with the concept of tawhid, or the unity of creation under Allah. This approach integrates technical competence with spiritual accountability, bringing patients, doctors, and the healthcare system closer to the Creator.
AI, no matter how advanced, cannot replicate the soul. It lacks the ability to embody true compassion, understand divine accountability, or guide patients towards spiritual healing. Therefore, a tawhidic approach to healthcare demands the presence of human doctors who can balance technical expertise with compassion, faith, and a sense of purpose rooted in serving Allah.
A collaborative future
AI’s role in healthcare should focus on enabling, not replacing, human physicians. As Dr. Chen pointed out, the future belongs to those who learn how to use AI effectively rather than those who resist it (Hswen & Rubin, 2024). By integrating AI responsibly, doctors can reclaim time for deeper patient connections and spiritual engagement, fostering a holistic approach to care.
For Muslims, this responsibility is even greater, as healthcare becomes a means of ibadah (worship) when guided by tawhidic principles. AI may assist with efficiency, but the soul of medicine lies in human hands. Only a doctor can truly embody competence and compassion, ensuring that care not only heals the body but also brings solace to the spirit.
References
Chen, J., Goh, E., & Hswen, Y. (2024). An AI chatbot outperformed physicians and physicians plus AI in a trial—what does that mean? JAMA Network Open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.40969
Hswen, Y., & Rubin, R. (2024). AI in medicine: Medical news and perspectives. JAMA.