DANIEL ARAUZ – NUNEZ

I am a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario. I am researching the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in mental health care. My interest lies in the joint histories of Western psychology and computation. I am particularly fascinated by the ways that various historic and contemporary developments in computing have produced different techniques to measure and construct different understandings of emotions, especially those associated with suffering.

Most recently, I have begun researching the ethical implications of the digital phenotyping of suicidal subjects. Using the passive data collection capabilities, this developing technique aims to use various measure representing the physical movements of users to predict and detect suicidal crises, and potentially automate appropriate emergency responders. My work aims to centre the active concerns of activists and survivors against the harms of digital surveillance and the carceral systems that they may work for or within.