In Australia, our burgeoning digital health sector is using automated decision-making (ADM) and AI to improve access to healthcare, enhanced treatment protocols, better diagnosis, monitoring and prediction models, and more personally tailored care. However, many consumer and industry organisations, including some of our partner organisations, have identified potential risks posed by ADM to trust, equitable access, safety, privacy, transparency and social justice in healthcare and public health.

ADM and AI technologies are also used to maintain and monitor aspects of the environment, including the health of animals, plants and the quality of air, water and soil. Here again, there are manifold potential benefits and risks of these applications, including issues related to ecological and multi-species justice and detrimental impacts such as increased e-waste, carbon emissions, water consumption and air pollution related to digital infrastructures.

This symposium provides a timely forum for considering the applications, use cases and social, political, ethical, legal and environmental consequences of these technologies in the context of automated human and planetary health.

We now invite expressions of interest for a multi-day symposium showcasing research from the Health Focus Area across ADM+S. Broadly defining health as related to both people and ecosystems, we are seeking a mix of papers aimed at generating more traditional outputs as well as interactive workshops aimed at non-traditional outputs. Demonstrations of tools, systems, resources and creative research methods that have been developed by ADM+S members are also encouraged as contributions to the symposium. Panels and sessions involving industry partners, health consumers with lived experience, and diverse groups of presenters (by gender, ethnicity, career stage, membership type) are strongly encouraged.

Event Details

The symposium will be held at the Caufield campus of Monash University, Victoria between Tuesday 27 and Thursday 29 October 2026. It will be organised and conducted in accordance with relevant ADM+S policies, including: the Code of Conduct; Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy; and the Accessible Meetings and Events Policy. Online participation will be enabled for remote presenters and attendees. There will be no registration fee for presenters or attendees.
More information here: https://www.admscentre.org.au/adms-policies/

Timeline

• 250 word abstracts due: 10:00 am (AEST) Friday 22 May
• Notification of outcome: on or before Monday 29 June
• Final Session description (including speakers info) due: Friday 24 July