Digital humanism in requirements engineering for healthcare solutions in the age of AI

This research commentary explores how requirements engineering (RE) can contribute to achieving digital humanism in AI-enabled healthcare, ensuring that technological innovation is balanced with human values. Drawing on insights from a panel discussion at the REWBAH’25 (RE for Well-Being, Aging, and Health) workshop, we identify four key themes: the necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration, the nuances of cultural and individual differences, human-AI collaborative decision-making, and the challenge of balancing technological advancement with sustainability and emotional considerations. We argue that RE is well suited for addressing these issues because it brings together diverse stakeholder perspectives to define what systems should achieve and how they should be used. In this paper, we build on digital humanism principles, on RE-relevant frameworks for AI, and on the above themes to frame the role of RE in supporting human-centred healthcare. We highlight open challenges, and outline five promising research directions and related research questions to guide future research and practice in RE, aiming to ensure that AI-enabled healthcare systems better reflect the values of digital humanism.

Keywords

Subject (DDC)

610 - Medizin und Gesundheit

Project

Event

Exhibition start date

Exhibition end date

Conference start date

Conference end date

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ISBN

ISSN

0947-3602
1432-010X

Language

English

Created during FHNW affiliation

Yes

Strategic action fields FHNW

Publication status

Published

Review

peer-reviewed

Open access category

Hybrid

License

Citation

Ouhbi, S., Levy, M., Campos, O. A. M., Lessard, L., Taveter, K., Fiorini, L., Premanandan, S., Fricker, S., & Amyot, D. (2026). Digital humanism in requirements engineering for healthcare solutions in the age of AI. Requirements Engineering, 31(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00766-026-00466-9

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