Lukas J. Meier, Harvard University, USA

Abstract: Which is better at doing medical ethics: conversational artificial intelligence bots like ChatGPT or tools based on fuzzy cognitive maps? The article compares the performance of chatbots that rely on large language models to that of our own METHAD algorithm. While both tools approach dilemmas in medical ethics through the lens of Beauchamp and Childress’ mid-level principles, ChatGPT and METHAD differ considerably in the format of their inputs and outputs, in their interpretability, and in the kinds of mistakes that they make. An ideal advisory algorithm would combine their characteristics.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; ChatGPT; decision-making; ethics consultation; generative AI; large language models; METHAD; principlism.