Artificial intelligence, digital media, and population health: Exposure science and social determinants of health

People today spend more time exposed to screens than ever before in human history. Aided by artificial intelligence (AI), capturing attention has become a key driver of economic productivity. This effort is powered by an infrastructure of workers dedicated to continually refining techniques to maximize exposure time on screens. Although digital communications and AI are transforming people's lives in both positive and negative ways, population health and exposure scientists have not kept pace. What is missing in the current hyper-connected, information-saturated world is the nature and extent of screen exposure. Our research on social media and public health points to the need for exposure scientists to design systems to track trending digital communications relevant to specific population health topics and prioritize the development of ongoing surveillance systems to capture screen exposures. Now is an opportune time for population health scientists to discover ways to use emerging technology to improve population health.