Work

Looking into the black mirror of the overdose crisis: Assessing the harms of collaborative surveillance technologies in the United States response

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Drug overdose is a leading cause of death among adults in the United States, prompting calls for more surveillance data and data sharing across public health and law enforcement to address the crisis. This paper integrates Black feminist science and technology studies (STS) into an anthropological analysis of the collision of public health, policing, and technology as embedded in the US National Overdose Response Strategy and its technological innovation, the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP). The dystopian Netflix series "Black Mirror," which explores the seemingly useful but quietly destructive potential of technology, offers a lens through which to speculate upon and anticipate the harms of collaborative surveillance projects. Ultimately, I ask: are such technological interventions a benevolent approach to a public health crisis or are we looking into a black mirror of racialized surveillance and criminalization of overdose in the United States?

Source: Medical Anthropology Quarterly

DOI: 10.1111/maq.12875

Author: Jennifer Syvertsen

Institution: University of California, Riverside

Language: English

Topic: Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,240