Automated Health Care Offers Freedom From Shame, But Is It What Patients Need?
May 22, 2018
(The New Yorker) – Most contemporary writing about A.I. fixates on the vital concerns of job disruption, privacy, and algorithmic bias. But there is an equally important conversation to be had about shame and vulnerability. We often respond more frankly to computers and robots than we do to our fellow-humans. In online surveys, for example, people admit to financial stress and illegal or unethical acts more readily than they do over the phone, and potential blood donors report riskier behaviors. When a virtual interviewer is asking the questions, children are more candid about bullying and adults show sadness more intensely. Part of this openness stems from the presumed anonymity of telling something to a machine: computers seem private because of their very facelessness.