Indigenous knowledge

Artificial intelligence transforms traditional medicine: advances, challenges and regulatory frameworks

Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly relevant role in the field of health, and its integration into traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) represents a new technological border.

In this context, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Telecommunications Union (UIT) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have published a technical report that Mape the current and potential applications of AI in this fieldaddressing from the development of drugs to the protection of indigenous knowledge.

New horizons for traditional medicine

Traditional medicine is practiced in 170 countries and are used by billions of people, especially in Bringing access to conventional medicine. With a market projection that will reach the 583,000 million dollars in 2025digitalization and use of AI can accelerate their expansion and improve their integration into contemporary health systems.

In countries like India, South Korea or Ghana, AI is already being applied to identify Medicinal plantsdevelop predictive algorithms Based on the genome (as in the Ayurgenomics project) and create Clinical Support Systems that combine traditional parameters with computational models. These innovations not only optimize diagnostic processes, but also allow most efficient and personalized clinical trials.

Data knowledge and governance protection

One of the central axes of the report is the sovereignty of indigenous data. Through initiatives such as the “Our Data Indigenous” project in Canada or the Maori Data Governance Model in New Zealand, it is sought that the communities retain the control of their knowledge and actively participate in the Technological decision making. This approach is aligned with the principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), essential for an ethical integration of AI.

Also, digital libraries such as the traditional Knowledge Digital Library (India) or the virtual Health Library (Americas) use technologies of Artificial intelligence to classify, protect and disseminate information On traditional practices, which also helps prevent biopiracy.

Regulatory and technological challenges

Despite these advances, important challenges still persist. The Data shortage structured quality, the lack of standardization terminological and the Digital Gap In vulnerable communities, make an equitable adoption of AI in traditional medicine. In addition, existing legal frameworks tend to focus on biomedicine, without contemplating the particularities of the TCIM.

In this sense, the need to create specific regulatory frameworks is urgent. WHO and UIT propose to adapt ethical and governance guides for emerging technologies to the context of traditional medicine, also encouraging digital training of professionals and the creation of interoperable global standards.

A call to global action

The report concludes with a clear road map for governments, technology companies and communities: Invest in inclusive ecosystems, develop national policies adapted to TCIM, strengthen digital training, establish ethical standards for data use and ensure equitable benefit distribution mechanisms.

The integration of artificial intelligence into traditional medicine represents an opportunity to improve health care at the global level, as well as for claim and protect ancestral knowledge of historically marginalized communities. According to Dr. Yukiko Nakatani, general deputy director of WHO health systems, “AI should not become a new border for exploitation, but a space for collaboration and community empowerment.”

This convergence between technology and tradition, if addressed with ethical rigor and inclusive approach, can redefine the health systems of the future.