Abstract:

Many problems in healthcare are funding, governance or management problems that can’t be solved solely by the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) or other automated, computerized systems. Social scientists in Science and Technology Studies (STS) study how innovation occurs within and is taken up by high-tech institutions and offers alternative perspectives to technology-first or technology-only approaches. First, we will examine some key problems with technological determinism and solutionism in healthcare from an STS perspective. Drawing on international examples about drug development, scheduling, electronic records, and the use of large language models for mental health therapy, we will then explore how a narrow focus on technology misses the broader contexts and deeper issues at stake in healthcare systems. Finally, we will discuss how perspectives like interdependence and critical cyborg literacy offer more nuanced, realistic, and ethically sensitive ways to think about the introduction of cutting edge technologies, like AI, in healthcare settings. 

 Speaker bio:

Danya Glabau is a medical anthropologist and STS scholar, and Industry Assistant Professor and Director of the Science and Technology Studies program at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Her research examines patient activism, the medical economy, and how human bodies become valuable data. Her first book, Food Allergy Advocacy: Parenting and the Politics of Care, examines how food allergy activists get involved in scientific research and political advocacy, and how race, class, and gender shape their advocacy goals. Her forthcoming book, co-authored with Laura Forlano, Cyborg, offers an introduction to cyborg theory for students, researchers, and engineering professionals. She earned her PhD from the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at Cornell University.