Embracing the future: using artificial intelligence in Australian health practitioner regulation

Artificial intelligence (AI) - computerised technology that imitates aspects of human intelligence - is developing at a rapid pace. It is increasingly used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of multifarious processes in private industry and public administration. Among the statutory authorities that have begun to explore the potential for AI to assist them are regulators of Australia's health professions. Protection of the public is a chief objective of this area of administrative law. This section considers some possible uses of AI - and particularly its capacities to analyse and draw inferences from data, make predictions and decisions, and automate tasks - that might help regulators achieve this goal. The section also contemplates the implications of AI involvement in the regulation of health practitioners for the rule of law and human rights it protects and recommends measures that might be taken to mitigate risks of their infringement.