The Luddites were not anti-technology; they were the original anti-oppression movement. I suggest that understanding the historical Luddite movement and more modern incarnations of the same offers an invaluable lens for elucidating the components of an ethically defensible governance strategy for artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare.
This presentation will explore how the technology and AI industry uses hermeneutical power to systematically disincentivise meaningful participation in governance of AI tools, and how this manifests in healthcare settings. Drawing from Jathan Sadowski's analysis in "The Mechanic and Luddite," we will critically examine what it is to have "expertise" in AI by exploring ways of knowing about healthcare AI tools. Reducing the effects of hermeneutical power in governance efforts requires careful attention not just to representation on governance committees, but to tone-setting, meeting facilitation, and deliberative democratic discourse.
At the Women's and Children's Health Network in Adelaide, South Australia, we have recently initiated the AI Governance Committee, intentionally formed around the notion of collaborative governance and are attempting to navigate these issues of hermeneutical power to ensure that AI integrations across our health network are done through meaningful governance that centres and prioritises the impact to consumers and to staff. This presentation will describe how we are attempting to embrace the knowledge gained from the Luddite movement to enable ethical integration of AI technologies.