Should Healthcare Resist AI?: The Transformative Impact of LLMs in Digital Pathology

Digital pathology (DP), especially when implemented with artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, offers the promise of faster turnaround times, improved accuracy, and improved collaboration. However, these technological advances must be carefully balanced against the overall burdens they impose. In particular, the rapid change in the legal regulation of healthcare technology and the uncertainty about the applicable rules can be a major barrier to the development and diffusion of DP. The question is whether the spread of AI technologies in this field is an inevitable trend that should always be encouraged, or whether this transformation should be carefully managed because of its implications. In order to provide a primer answer and to highlight a research path, the analysis will focus on the diffusion of large language models (LLMs) in DP as a paradigm of the need to balance different public interests. The paper is the result of the collaboration between physicians, engineers and legal scholars.