The In-bodiment Of Algorithmic Agency: Human-algorithmic Collaboration In Artificial Pancreas Systems

Abstract

We study individuals with Type 1 diabetes that use an open-source artificial pancreas system to manage their medical condition and expand their real-life agency and quality of life. Based on an inductive qualitative field study of users of an open source artificial pancreas system, we explain how the increased reliance on algorithmic devices within the bodies of human users challenges typical assumptions about technology embodiment, agency redistribution and control. We offer new practice-grounded insights of this emergent phenomenon, which allow us to develop an emergent theory of the in-bodiment rather than delegation or embodiment of agency. Our work opens new avenues for research on the design, governance, and ethical implications of digital technologies that do not merely inform or mediate human experiences but interact directly within our human bodies.