Developing a Legal Framework for AI in Qatar and Beyond
Abstract: AI is the target of much research in the GCC region and is being deployed in various sectors for efficiency gains. As with all other countries, there is no specific law regulating this space. The pattern that has arisen in the region is much the same as elsewhere. Namely, experts have identified specific concerns and challenges of AI. They seek to adapt existing guidelines and laws to regulate the use of AI but find that those laws are lacking. Thus, as a stopgap, they develop soft-law guidelines until legislation is created. To elucidate this process in the region, this presentation examines the developments in Qatar, which is a regional leader on the development of AI. The health sector is used to highlight the dynamics that have arisen owing to the significant attention given to AI in the medical realm. AI raises unique legal challenges owing to its autonomous nature, limitations surrounding explainability, and a plethora of complex data. In medicine, these raise specific issues for patient privacy, informed consent and medical liability, in addition to cultural norms specific to the region. There are existing laws that touch upon those issues, setting the standard of care for medical liability, outlining requirements for informed consent and data processing rules. However, the legal framework as it applies to AI is piecemeal and untargeted. As such, researchers at HBKU in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Health in Qatar have been working to develop soft-law guidelines in the interim to resolve some of the legal gaps. Those guidelines are being tailored for AI healthcare researchers in Qatar. Moving forward, consideration must be given as to how a comprehensive legal framework can be developed from those existing initiatives that applies broadly across sectors.
Author bio: Dr. Barry Solaiman is an Assistant Professor of Law (HBKU Law, Qatar) and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics in Clinical Medicine (Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar). He completed his PhD in law at the University of Cambridge. He is the Lead Project Investigator for a grant research project at HBKU and Project Investigator on another HBKU grant, both examining AI in healthcare. He is co-editing a major book on Health, AI and the Law with Glenn Cohen to be released in 2023. Recent Publications on AI •Barry Solaiman and I. Glenn Cohen (eds), Research Handbook on Health, AI and the Law (Edward Elgar, Forthcoming 2023) • Barry Solaiman and Mark Bloom, ‘AI, Explainability, and Safeguarding Patient Safety in Europe: Towards a Science-Focused Regulatory Model’ in The Future of Medical Device Regulation: Innovation and Protection (Cambridge University Press, 2022) • Barry Solaiman, ‘Addressing Access with Artificial Intelligence: Overcoming the Limitations of Deep Learning to Broaden Remote Care Today’, 51(4) Memphis Law Review 1103-1141 (2021)
Recorded Presentation | 26 April 2023
#Healthcare #Law #Policymakers #Qatar #GulfCountries
