Technology, Surveillance, and Artificial Intelligence in Global Health

Session Submission Type: Created Panel

Session Description

In this panel, the authors raise important questions about how power dynamics in global health are impacted by the introduction of new medical technology, as well as mediation of communication and data. Woo et al. explore questions about compliance to public health measures using night-time satellite image data of capital cities around the world, investigating why citizens of some countries comply with COVID-19 related restrictions imposed by governments better than those of other countries. Shiobara and Sheblo’s examination of contention around highly expensive robotic surgery systems raises important questions about the stakeholders who play a role in assessing new medical technologies and how the lack of transparency in the assessments affects policy accountability. Ye considers the role of “strategic distraction”—the tactic whereby the Chinese state leaves intact certain elements in a controversial event and diverts public debates to less sensitive ones—in the context of health information during Covid. Finally, Vitale and Shipton explore the growth and prioritization of AI in primary healthcare—a growth that often reflects and solidifies existing power structures and impedes efforts to reduce health inequality. Together, these papers will facilitate an engaging discussion about the role of developing technologies in global health, the shifting power dynamic caused by such introductions, and about the tradeoffs that come about through their usage.

Sub Unit

• Division 48: Health Politics & Health Policy

Individual Presentations

• Explaining Compliance with Public Health Measures Using Satellite Image Data - Byungwon Woo, Yonsei University; Jihwan Jeong, Harvard University; Hyunjin Yim, Yonsei University

• Impact of Robotic Surgery for National Health Insurance System of Japan - Hiroyuki Shiobara, Tokyo Medical and Dental University; Olesya Sheblo, Gakushuin University

• Technology vs Politics: Critiquing Artificial Intelligence in Global Health - Lucia Vitale, University of California, Santa Cruz; Leah Shipton

• Online Scapegoating and Strategic Distraction in China’s Chaotic COVID Reopening - Zijian Ye, Oxford University

Chair

• Ashley M Fox SUNY at Albany

Discussants

• Renu Singh Durham University

• Sorcha A Brophy Columbia University