Abstract
The implementation of AI in hospital settings remains limited, with data-related challenges being a major barrier. This paper examines these challenges as ‘frictions’ between data-dependent AI technologies and the existing sociotechnical installed base of healthcare, investigating how they shape AI development and implementation in Norwegian public hospitals. Based on interviews with experts in the Norwegian healthcare sector, our findings reveal frictions in three areas: in generating data, ensuring its quality, and putting it to use. We argue that these frictions stem from a fundamental mismatch between care-driven healthcare arrangements and the computation-driven requirements of AI, and discuss how they shape efforts to bring AI into hospitals. We contribute a data-centric perspective on these challenges, showing how they are rooted in the underlying logics of the sociotechnical installed base of healthcare.
Recommended Citation
Soetens, Esli; Grisot, Miria; and Kannelønning, Mari Serine, "Data Frictions in Medical AI Development and Implementation" (2026). 17th Scandinavian Conference on Information Systems. 1.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/scis2026/1