Work Transformations and Changes in Healthcare Professionals’Identity in the Erea of Artificial Intelligence – A Sociological Literature Review
Résumé
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector is driving profound transformations in the work of healthcare professionals, altering both theirs practices and their relationship to work and professional identity. In response to these changes, this presentation offers a sociological literature review aimed at identifying the main themes studied, emerging research areas, and the blind spots in current research. The literature analysis reveals three major well-documented themes: automation and the redefinition of tasks, which raise questions about the delegation of activities to algorithms; the evolution of the caregiver-patient relationship, with a reconfiguration of human interactions in the face of digital tools; and the challenges of professional responsibility and ethics, which raise concerns about decision-making and professional ethics in a human-machine collaboration context. At the same time, three major emerging themes are gradually gaining attention in recent studies; social inequalities in the face of AI and the differentiated access to technologies, raising the issue of a digital divide within healthcare institutions; organizational transformations and the redistribution of responsibilities, particularly between healthcare professionals and managers in the governance of AI systems. Finally, several blind spots in research can be identified, three of which we aim to explore through a new research initiative: the technological appropriation processes by healthcare professionals and the actual use of AI; the meaning of work in a technological context to explore values and the evolution of the relationship to work; and the collective identity of professionals, facing a redefinition of their roles. This literature review thus aims to contribute to a better understanding of the ongoing transformations and to open new research perspectives.