Envisioning a Future Where Health Care Tech Leaves Some Behind: An MIT Student’s Warning

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming healthcare, offering potentially life-changing advancements. However, an MIT student’s award-winning work raises a crucial question: will the pursuit of profit through subscription-based models alienate vulnerable patients?

For the third consecutive year, MIT’s Envisioning the Future of Computing Prize challenged students to envision the societal impact of computing advancements. Annaliese Meyer, a PhD candidate in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, won the $10,000 grand prize with her speculative fiction piece, “(Pre/Sub)scribe.”

Meyer’s work explores the implications of a revolutionary healthcare technology – “B-Bots,” synthetic bacterial mimics designed to regulate gut biomes – when coupled with a subscription-based payment model. The story follows both the creator of B-Bots and a user named Briar, highlighting the benefits of the technology in managing vitamin deficiencies and chronic conditions. However, the introduction of a subscription model jeopardizes access for those unable to afford it.

“In a for-profit health-care system, even medical advances that would, in theory, be revolutionary for human health can end up causing more harm than good for the many people on the losing side of the massive wealth disparity in modern society,” Meyer explains. She emphasizes that these views are her own and do not represent the official stances of any affiliated institutions.

Meyer’s perspective is informed by her experiences comparing the healthcare systems of Canada and the United States, particularly her mother’s cancer treatments in British Columbia. Beyond the cautionary tale of healthcare equity, Meyer also hopes to convey a scientific message about the complexity of gut microbiomes, inspired by her thesis work in ocean metaproteomics.

The Envisioning the Future of Computing Prize, co-sponsored by the Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS), attracted 65 submissions this year. Caspar Hare, associate dean of SERC and professor of philosophy, emphasizes the prize’s goal: “to encourage MIT students to think about what they’re doing, not just in terms of advancing computing-related technologies, but also in terms of how the decisions they make may or may not work to our collective benefit.”

The judging panel, comprised of faculty members from various departments, selected three finalists based on their essays’ articulation, thoroughness, grounding, imagination, and inspiration. The finalists presented their work at a live awards ceremony in early May. Martin Staadecker and Juan Santoyo were awarded $5,000 as runners-up, and eight honorable mentions each received a $1,000 prize.

The MIT community is committed to continuing the Envisioning the Future of Computing Prize, adapting it to remain relevant and provide a historical record of MIT students’ perspectives on computing technologies.