The lines between sci-fi and real life get blurrier and blurrier each day. This is because of how fast technology continues to progress and the innovations it can now support. Such circumstances are exactly why industries are reeling with ethical dilemmas, uncharted territories, and innovative ideas that aren’t yet fully comprehended. Somewhere in all of that is the idea that Google wants to advance medical science using Veteran DNA from the Joint Pathology Center for its artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives. Read next:Army TITAN Program Will Use AI To Blast Enemies From Afar

The Purpose of the Joint Pathology Center

The Joint Pathology Center (JPC) is the leading authority to the U.S. government and works to advance the field of pathology, the study of illnesses and diseases, in our country. Here, you’ll find the oldest tissue depository in the nation. When it comes to the Joint Pathology Center in Silver Spring, MD, you’ll find collaborations with the VA, DoD, and other entities. A large focus revolves around the JPC collection of pathology slides with skin, tumor biopsies, and organ portions from Veterans totaling over 55 million.

Dystopian Nightmare or the Future of Healthcare?

Tech giants Google had yet another idea. It was going to boost its AI endeavors by using the slides located at the Joint Pathology Center’s warehouse. In theory, this was a great plan to advance AI in healthcare, but many concerns quickly arose. A project that has been going on for at least 6 years, many workers at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) have ethical and legal concerns revolving around privacy. There are also concerns about favoritism, as Google used lobbying to position itself for such access. “Well-designed, correctly validated, and ethically implemented [health algorithms] could be game-changing things, but until we figure out how to do that well, I’m worried that–knowingly or unknowingly–there will be an awful lot of snake oil sold,” said the Chair of the College of American Pathologists’ Council on Informatics and Pathology Innovation, Dr. Monica E de Baca. For the Alphabet company, however, the concerns were of a different variety. “The chief concern is keeping this out of the press,” said a representative of Google to repository leaders. Because of the JPC collection’s age and size, its value is incalculable. There are even “edge cases” which are instances where diseases are so rare that pathologists don’t come across them. But there are continued privacy concerns as many tissue samples have detailed information about the patient, especially in more modern samples.

Ethical Concerns About Lobbying by Google

Lobbying is nothing new, and Google using its position to do so should come as a surprise to no one. As a leader in the tech world, it’s no shock that the search engine and marketing behemoth would have some influence. In 2022, after doing just that, the House Armed Services Committee added language into a report, discreetly, that accompanied the Defense Authorization Act, raising doubts about the Joint Pathology Center’s ability to modernize. Additionally, it would show the value and create a viable way for the center to assist with AI at the Defense Health Agency Joint Pathology Center in the future. But remember, there are still many personal pieces of information that can be attached to these specimens, and Google would have accessed this content. In 2017, the JPC and Google called off the collaboration, but the tech giant wasn’t done. Now, Google is continuing its pursuit of the data, despite concerns that AI in healthcare still needs to be assessed and the company known for housing personal data could connect users with personal healthcare information. “We had hoped to enable the JPC to digitize its data and, with its permission, develop computer models that would enable researchers and clinicians to improve diagnosis for cancers and other illnesses,” said Google spokesperson Ted Ladd. “Our customers own and manage their data, and we cannot, and do not, use it for any purpose other than explicitly agreed upon by the customer,” he continued.

The Joint Pathology Center and the Future of AI

Of course, Google denies that it has any plans to connect consumers with the data it seeks from the DHA Joint Pathology Center. Additionally, what AI can bring to the world of healthcare is insurmountable. As tech evolves, AI has the ability to help us identify diseases and causes of diseases faster than humans can. Not only can we find such sicknesses, but we can also devise cures quicker as a result. Such was the case when it came time for the scientific community to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and how a vaccine was found so quickly. Scientists are using AI to dream up revolutionary new proteins in seconds, not months, but these advancements still warrant caution. Private tours, ethically questionable practices, and other general concerns from pathology experts make these developments something to watch for the Veteran community and anyone else who values privacy. The Joint Pathology Center’s collaboration with Google could be a slippery slope if not handled properly. Suggested read:100 Hilarious AI-Generated Images the Military Will Love