Making AI’s Impact on Pathology Visible: Using Ethnographic Methods for Ethical and Epistemological Insights

Abstract

The field of pathology is currently undergoing fundamental changes, including the transition from analog to digital workspaces and the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into digital diagnostic workflows. Discussing the ethical implications of these changes is complicated by the fact that both laypersons and medical professionals know relatively little about the ways pathologists conduct their daily work. To reveal the largely ‘invisible’ daily practices of pathology departments and better understand the ongoing processes of innovation within the field, we employed a variety of ethnographic methods: interviews, participant observations, and ethnographic filming. Approaching AI in pathology through three different angles helped us to gain rich knowledge and meaningful insights about the ways AI should impact pathologists’ and lab technicians’ roles and responsibilities. In this article, we describe the benefits and downsides of our ‘slow approach’ to data collection and invite those working on similar topics involving the complex dynamics of digital transitions to reflect on whether such methods might also benefit their research.