Paper short abstract:

Companies like Apple and Google have recently entered the medical research space. This talk argues that the disconnect between the logics of philanthropy and commercial interest at work in the Googlization of medical research have implications for both research ethics and issues of social justice.

Paper long abstract:

Following the announcement of a partnership between IBM and Apple last year to put health data from Apple Watches into the hands of doctors and researchers, Michael Rodin, senior vice-president of IBM Watson, stated that: "the generation who buy Apple Watches are interested in data philanthropy". This agreement is just one example of the new collaborations between the health and technology sectors that promise to revolutionize medical research, and that are forming around the launch of platforms and services like the Apple ResearchKit, the Google Baseline Study or Google Genomics. As Rodin's proclamation implies, this revolution is predicated on the philanthropic disposition of digitally engaged prosumers. But how does the logic of the philanthropy of data generators and of data sets as a public good clash with the revenue generating practices of the companies that are driving what we might call the Googlization of medical research? How do the methods for collecting, storing and analyzing data in new models of digitally empowered research introduce new biases? And how may the emergence of new power asymmetries in this space shape future research agendas? This talk argues that the disconnect between the two logics of philanthropy and commercial interest at work in the Googlization of medical research have implications for both the quality of the research that will ensue and issues of social justice.