BLENDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HUMAN VALUES IN PHYSIOTHERAPY TRAINING AND PRACTICE

Abstract

By improving instructional approaches, rehabilitation techniques, and diagnostic precision, artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing healthcare (Jiang et al, 2017). AI-driven technologies, including wearable technology, telerehabilitation platforms, and machine learning algorithms, are being incorporated more and more into clinical practice and training in physiotherapy (Loureiro et al, 2011). Nonetheless, human values such as empathy, moral reasoning, and patient-centered care are fundamental to physiotherapy (Epstein and Street, 2011). This chapter takes a multidisciplinary approach to critically analyze how AI and human values are integrated in physiotherapy. While addressing issues like data protection, algorithmic bias, and less human engagement, it emphasises the advantages of AI in enhancing efficiency, personalization, and accessibility (WHO, 2021). The chapter highlights the need for a hybrid "human-in-the-loop" model in which AI supplements clinical judgement rather than taking its place (Topol, 2019).