BSA Medical Sociology Conference 2021,’Artificial intelligence and embodiment in medicine’

BSA Medical Sociology Conference 2021: MedSoc Month
Date: September, 2021
Location: virtual conference

Session: STS and Medicine
10 September, 2021, 11.00-11.45am

’Artificial intelligence and embodiment in medicine’
Tomoko Tamari

Abstract

The paper critically considers the limitations of the algorithmic approach and the significance of ‘embodiment’ for understanding organic bodies. Medical technology, especially computerization has transformed both practices and knowledge in medicine. The paper focuses on recent debates on the development of biologically inspired robotics which conceive that ‘having/being the body’ is a vital element to understand ‘embodiment’ as opposed to ‘the body as a digital data’. biologically inspired robotics consider that ‘AI without the body’ has limitations, since the body is a crucial platform for human interaction with a complex environment in the real world. Although this isn’t a new idea for the social and life sciences, the paper, drawing on Simondon’s notion, ‘technical mentality’, examines how the incorporation of robotics (technics) and social sciences (culture) could open up a new way of understanding the body, artificial intelligence, and robots in order to constantly renewing to balance medical knowledge and practice.