New ontological exercises on life: scenarios in digital epidemiology

Abstract

Approached from the classical biopolitical perspective, observations of discrepancies proposed by the escalated use of new digital technologies in epidemiology, allows us to identify particular mechanisms to analyze how the membrane of the biotic is being permeated. Proposals bases on the notion of “scenarios” give rise to conceptual transformations that (will) involve new links between subjects and technologies. The transposition of the global public health scenarios (such as strategic designs) – designed in recent decades- into digital molds (digital epidemiology), brought us to inquire on emergence of new ontologies about life. Based on science and technology studies (more precisely, Actor-Network theory), the present article proposes the need to reconsider the techno scientific readings grounded in three main axes: a. bios transposed into data; b. heterotopies in health between virtual-real; and c. the new actors that articulate subjects and subjectivities. These analyses are based on the triangulation of different sources (scenarios and journalistic articles linked to epidemiology, personal interviews and focus groups) with an aim of observing the main articulation mechanisms of new ontology in health, which are reconfiguring the conceptual definition of global health policies.