Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely seen as having great potential in the field of medicine and health, with the possibility to fundamentally transform medical care and clinical decision-making. Despite technologies such as rule-based expert systems, machine learning, and natural language models being applied in clinical practice, the widespread deployment of AI in healthcare still faces numerous technical challenges and ethical debates. Still, in its early stage of development, it has not had a significant impact on clinical diagnostics and treatment. However, with the rapid progression of AI in medicine, this"window of opportunity"is gradually closing. This study aims to explore the application progress and emerging potential of AI in clinical practice; analyze the ethical challenges, including data privacy and bias, digital divide and health inequities, explainable AI and autonomous decision-making and the incorrect risk and responsibility shift; put forward corresponding countermeasures; to provide theoretical groundwork and evidence for the policy-making related to medical AI in China.

Artificial intelligence; Machine learning; Clinical application; Emerging technologies; Ethics