Hosted by REDE4BlackLives, this Symposium explored the relationship of surveillance, data collection, public health, artificial intelligence (AI), the COVID-19 pandemic, and the implications for Black communities in Canada and beyond. The two-part series bridged disciplines and conversations, bringing together academic and community scholars, clinicians, epidemiologists, historians, the front lines, and organizers.
In the session above, LLana James, Patricia O’Campo, Sam Tecle, and Laura Rosella explore the history, methods, assumptions, and limitations of public health practice in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, artificial intelligence, and calls for race-based data. What is the role of scientific racism in both the history and current practice of public health? What kind of narratives come out of public health and epidemiology, and what consequences do these narratives have on the ground?