3 The results of these interactions are referred to as digital “biomarkers.” As Insel explains: These interactions-the patterns and timings of user activity on touch-screen devices-are aggregated and analyzed using machine learning. 2 By analyzing human-computer interaction (for example, the use of a smartphone), the measurement focus is not on content (what you type) but how you type. For example, Thomas Insel, a psychiatrist and former head of the National Institute for Mental Health, left the institute to help found a tech company with the aim of improving psychiatric taxonomy and research through artificial intelligence.ĭigital phenotyping is defined as the “moment-by-moment quantification of the individual-level human phenotype in-situ using data from smartphones and other personal digital devices.” 3 In other words, this technology uses sensors that can track an individual’s behavior, location, and speech patterns (e.g., intonation). Rather than rely on subjective self-reports and depression scales, psychiatrists and neuroscientists are turning their attention to digital phenotyping, promoted as an objective way to measure-and supposedly predict-traits, behavior, and mood. The lack of biomarkers, or objective measurements, to determine mental disorders has plagued psychiatry and resulted in concerns about the validity of psychiatric disorders. Tom Insel, former head of the National Institute for Mental Health and co-founder of Mindstrong I believe mental health will be the part of medicine most transformed by the digital revolution. Subtle aspects of typing and scrolling, such as the latency between space and character or the interval between scroll and click, are surprisingly good surrogates for cognitive traits and affective states. The global dissemination and promotion of these apps raise human rights concerns.īack to the future: Digital phenotyping replaces the search for genetic biomarkers Digital aripiprazole was developed in order to increase medication compliance, but we argue that it may undermine a rights-based approach in the mental health field by reinforcing coercive practices and power imbalances. We also discuss the United States’ recent regulatory approval of the first-ever “digital” drug, an antipsychotic (aripiprazole) embedded with a sensor. In this paper, we describe what digital phenotyping is, how it is used to predict mood, and why we ought to exercise caution before embracing it as a means of mental health surveillance. For example, there are concerns not just about privacy but also about the agency and autonomy of the person using mental health apps. However, such technologies also pose risks to human rights at both the individual and population levels. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how helpful telehealth platforms and mental health applications (apps) can be in a time of quarantine and social distancing. Digital technologies and tools hold much promise.
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