Currently submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Mar 16, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Mar 18, 2026 - May 13, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
AI for Sexually Transmitted Infection Detection: A Call for Robustness, Ethical Oversight, and Equitable Deployment
ABSTRACT
The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine has dramatically changed the paradigm of clinical practice. Several studies recently published in ‘Journal of Medical Internet Research’ have witnessed this comprehensive evolution which spans from diagnosis, treatment to prevention. However, our experience as clinicians and digital health researchers suggests critical, underexplored facets in the process of using AI technology to advance the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infection (STI) diseases, including the inherent heterogeneity in real-world image acquisition, the societal and ethical ripple effects of STI, and the successful and equitable integration of advanced computational tools in diagnostic pathways. On this basis, we also envisioned a framework that clinicians should follow within the AI-assisted diagnostic process. Collectively, the above issues are worth warranting further attention to enhance the true clinical utility, interpretability, and equitable deployment of such technologies.
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