Algorithmic emergence? Epistemic in/justice in AI-directed transformations of healthcare
Moves toward integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly deep learning and generative AI-based technologies, into the domains of healthcare and public health have recently intensified, with a growing body of literature tackling the ethico-political implications of this. This paper cons...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Sociology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1520810/full |
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| author | Imo Emah SJ Bennett |
| author_facet | Imo Emah SJ Bennett |
| author_sort | Imo Emah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Moves toward integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly deep learning and generative AI-based technologies, into the domains of healthcare and public health have recently intensified, with a growing body of literature tackling the ethico-political implications of this. This paper considers the interwoven epistemic, sociopolitical and technical ramifications of healthcare-AI entanglements, examining how AI materialities shape emergence of particular modes of healthcare organization, governance and roles, and reflecting on how to embed participatory engagement within these entanglements. We discuss the implications of socio-technical entanglements between AI and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) for equitable development and governance of health AI. AI applications invariably center on the domains of medical knowledge and practice that are amenable to computational workings. This, in turn, intensifies the prioritization of these medical domains and furthers the assumptions which support the development of AI, a move which decontextualizes the qualitative nuances and complexities of healthcare while simultaneously advancing infrastructure to support these medical domains. We sketch the material and ideological reconfiguration of healthcare which is being shaped by the move toward embedding health AI assemblages in real-world contexts. We then consider the implications of this, how AI might be best employed in healthcare, and how to tackle the algorithmic injustices which become reproduced within health AI assemblages. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-beea156e84694ef5b979f4f6ccccf838 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2297-7775 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Sociology |
| spelling | doaj-art-beea156e84694ef5b979f4f6ccccf8382025-02-07T11:15:12ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sociology2297-77752025-02-011010.3389/fsoc.2025.15208101520810Algorithmic emergence? Epistemic in/justice in AI-directed transformations of healthcareImo Emah0SJ Bennett1Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine, School of Medicine, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, United KingdomDepartment of Geography, Lower Mountjoy, Durham University, Durham, United KingdomMoves toward integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly deep learning and generative AI-based technologies, into the domains of healthcare and public health have recently intensified, with a growing body of literature tackling the ethico-political implications of this. This paper considers the interwoven epistemic, sociopolitical and technical ramifications of healthcare-AI entanglements, examining how AI materialities shape emergence of particular modes of healthcare organization, governance and roles, and reflecting on how to embed participatory engagement within these entanglements. We discuss the implications of socio-technical entanglements between AI and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) for equitable development and governance of health AI. AI applications invariably center on the domains of medical knowledge and practice that are amenable to computational workings. This, in turn, intensifies the prioritization of these medical domains and furthers the assumptions which support the development of AI, a move which decontextualizes the qualitative nuances and complexities of healthcare while simultaneously advancing infrastructure to support these medical domains. We sketch the material and ideological reconfiguration of healthcare which is being shaped by the move toward embedding health AI assemblages in real-world contexts. We then consider the implications of this, how AI might be best employed in healthcare, and how to tackle the algorithmic injustices which become reproduced within health AI assemblages.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1520810/fulldigital healthmedical AIdata justiceepistemic injusticeemergence |
| spellingShingle | Imo Emah SJ Bennett Algorithmic emergence? Epistemic in/justice in AI-directed transformations of healthcare Frontiers in Sociology digital health medical AI data justice epistemic injustice emergence |
| title | Algorithmic emergence? Epistemic in/justice in AI-directed transformations of healthcare |
| title_full | Algorithmic emergence? Epistemic in/justice in AI-directed transformations of healthcare |
| title_fullStr | Algorithmic emergence? Epistemic in/justice in AI-directed transformations of healthcare |
| title_full_unstemmed | Algorithmic emergence? Epistemic in/justice in AI-directed transformations of healthcare |
| title_short | Algorithmic emergence? Epistemic in/justice in AI-directed transformations of healthcare |
| title_sort | algorithmic emergence epistemic in justice in ai directed transformations of healthcare |
| topic | digital health medical AI data justice epistemic injustice emergence |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1520810/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT imoemah algorithmicemergenceepistemicinjusticeinaidirectedtransformationsofhealthcare AT sjbennett algorithmicemergenceepistemicinjusticeinaidirectedtransformationsofhealthcare |