Machine Unlearning in Digital Healthcare: Addressing Technical and Ethical Challenges

Abstract

The ``Right to be Forgotten," as outlined in regulatory frameworks such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), allows individuals to request the deletion of their personal data from deployed machine learning models. This provision ensures that individuals can maintain control over their personal information. In the digital health era, this right has become a critical concern for both patients and healthcare providers. To facilitate the effective removal of personal data from machine learning models, the concept of ``machine unlearning" has been introduced. This paper highlights the technical and ethical challenges associated with machine unlearning in digital healthcare. By examining current unlearning methodologies and their limitations, we propose a roadmap for future research and development in this field.