From Everyday to Existential -- The ethics of shifting the boundaries of health and data with multimodal digital biomarkers

TL;DR

This paper argues that MDBs expand the concept of digital biomarkers along the dimensions of variability, complexity and abstraction, producing an ontological shift that datafies health and an epistemic shift that redefines health relevance.

Abstract

Multimodal digital biomarkers (MDBs) integrate diverse physiological, behavioral, and contextual data to provide continuous representations of health. This paper argues that MDBs expand the concept of digital biomarkers along the dimensions of variability, complexity and abstraction, producing an ontological shift that datafies health and an epistemic shift that redefines health relevance. These transformations entail ethical implications for knowledge, responsibility, and governance in data-driven, preventive medicine.

Figures (2)

• Figure 1: The gradual expansion of the biomarker concept
• Figure 2: Datafication and recontextualisation