AI and the everyday political-economy of global health

Project description

Focused on the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence within global healthcare, which has accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, the proposal identifies an urgent need to better understand the challenges and potential solutions by which policymakers at the national and global levels can ensure the benefits of AI are fully realised in the public interest.

Research question

The proposal states the research question as follows: How are governance structures emerging in response to the rapidly accelerating role of AI in global healthcare, and what are the implications for the distribution of power in global politics?

The question includes two key aspects:

1. how institutional actors (i.e. states and international governmental organisations) are responding, and their relationship to private actors currently leading these developments;
2. the wider social context in which civil society, professional medical associations, but also everyday individuals relate to, and experience, these processes guiding the future of global politics.

The project finances an assistant professorship (biträdande lektor) and two PhDs.

Artificial Intelligence doesn’t have to lead us to a dystopic future

Current

‘Mind the Gap: AI as Equalizer or Oppressor in Healthcare?’

Read a blog written by Jason Tucker representing our project at the WASP-HS Winter Conference 2022.

Publications

In May 2022 we organized a roundtable as part of WASP-HS’ Community Reference Meeting focused on divergent understandings of political participation with respect to AI. A core foundation of democracy is the inclusion of voices that are otherwise excluded by power asymmetries in society. Yet, despite being pivotal to the present and future shape of human society, the development of artificial intelligence systems is often said to underrepresent key demographics. First, then, how can we increase participation in the development and implementation of AI systems? Second, though, what happens to the concept of ‘participation’ in the era of big data sets that feed AI? For example, widening big data sets to include the life experiences of those on the margins of society seems to promise a means to effectively make AI more inclusive and reduce bias. The interest of big firms in widening data sets could be read as widening societal participation. Yet can we also participate in the development of AI if we refuse access to our data? And how can we ensure that participation is not turned into a merely passive act of being monitored?  The roundtable discussion considered these questions and is summarized in our chapter. With thanks to WASP-HS and the roundtable participants:

Malvika Sharan, The Turing Institute, UK.
Pedro Sanches, Umeå University, Sweden​
Sunny Dosanjh, Deloitte MCS Limited, UK
Aleks Berditchevskaia, NESTA, UK​
Henrik Björklund, Umeå University, Sweden​
Birgit Schippers, University of Strathclyde Glasgow, UK​
Rachel Foley, DeepMind, UK/USA
Ratidzo Njagu, Kunashe Foundation, Zimbabwe

• Community Reference Meeting: Challenges and Opportunities of Regulating AI: The Participation Paradox in the Politics of AI

• If Only the Lake Could Talk

• Read chapters by several project researchers within 'If Only the Lake Could Talk – Futures of AI for Sustainability' published in September 2022. Dennis Munetsi ‘Rethinking Governance for Resilient AI Futures’, Michael Strange ‘Is AI Creative or a Tool for Creativity?’ and Jason Tucker ‘Disruptive Possibilities: AI and Planetary Health’

• If Only the Lake Could Talk – Futures of AI for Sustainability

EPEHAI (Everyday Political Economy of Health & AI) Brown Bag Seminar series

Interested to discuss the politics of artificial intelligence technologies? As part of our collaborative learning, project participants and curious minds meet to present and debate key research and perspectives relevant to the themes of AI and the everyday political economy of global health. If you want to contribute, please contact Michael Strange.

Michael Strange

Keynote presentation

Invited keynote (online) presentation with Michael Strange ’ What does AI mean for the future of democracy?’ at the international conference “Artificial Intelligence, Public Policy, and Humanity Education” at Geumgang University, June 30, 2021, Seoul, South Korea.

Watch the keynote presentation on Youtube