Envisioning a Future Where Healthcare Tech Leaves Some Behind: An MIT Prize-Winning Perspective

The promise of artificial intelligence in healthcare is immense, offering potentially life-changing advancements. However, the pursuit of profit through subscription-based models raises concerns about alienating vulnerable patients. This issue was brought to the forefront by Annaliese Meyer, a PhD candidate at MIT, whose work of speculative fiction, ‘(Pre/Sub)scribe,’ won MIT’s Envisioning the Future of Computing Prize.

Meyer, part of the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, conceived ‘B-Bots,’ synthetic bacterial mimics designed to regulate gut biomes via Bluetooth. Her winning paper explores a future where this revolutionary healthcare technology becomes entangled with a subscription-based payment model, jeopardizing treatment for some.

‘(Pre/Sub)scribe’ chronicles the experiences of both the B-Bot creator and a user named Briar, who benefits from the supplement in managing vitamin deficiencies and chronic conditions. Meyer explains that the introduction of a subscription model highlights how a for-profit healthcare system can undermine even the most revolutionary medical advances, exacerbating disparities due to wealth inequality.

Meyer’s perspective is shaped by her experience with healthcare systems in both the United States and Canada, witnessing firsthand the differences in cost and coverage, particularly during her mother’s cancer treatments in British Columbia. She emphasizes that her opinions are her own and do not reflect the official stances of affiliated institutions.

Beyond the cautionary tale of healthcare equity, Meyer hopes to underscore the complexity of gut microbiomes, drawing from her thesis work in ocean metaproteomics. She is fascinated by how microbes adapt to environmental changes through protein production, influenced by the microbial community and metabolic exchange between organisms.

Meyer’s passion for writing, predating her scientific aspirations, found an outlet in this contest. She describes the experience as incredibly rewarding, pushing her as both a writer and a scientist. The process involved extensive research into unfamiliar topics, such as the patent process.

The Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC), a cross-cutting initiative of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS), co-sponsored the contest with support from MAC3 Philanthropies. This year’s competition drew 65 submissions from a diverse range of academic disciplines.

Caspar Hare, associate dean of SERC and professor of philosophy, initiated the prize in 2023 to encourage students to consider the broader societal impact of their computing advancements. The prize aims to provide historical snapshots of computing-related technologies deemed most compelling by MIT students.

The evaluation process involved anonymous review by faculty members, followed by live presentations from the finalists. This year’s judging panel included Marzyeh Ghassemi, Jason Jackson, Brad Skow, Armando Solar-Lezama, and Nikos Trichakis. Martin Staadecker and Juan Santoyo were awarded $5,000 each as runners-up for their essays.

Watch Annaliese Meyer’s presentation here. See Juan Santoyo’s presentation here. See Martin Staadecker’s presentation here.