Digital health at the age of the Anthropocene

@article{chevance2026digital,
  title = {{Digital health at the age of the Anthropocene}},
  author = {Guillaume Chevance and Eric Hekler and Maxime Efoui-Hess and Job Godino and Natalie Golaszewski and Lisa Gualtieri and Andrew Krause and Laurie Marrauld and Camille Nebeker and Olga Perski and David Simons and Jennifer Taylor and Paquito Bernard},
  journal = {The Lancet Digital Health},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1016/s2589-7500(20)30130-8},
  url = {https://hal.science/hal-05836745v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Digital health at the age of the Anthropocene
AU  - Guillaume Chevance
AU  - Eric Hekler
AU  - Maxime Efoui-Hess
AU  - Job Godino
AU  - Natalie Golaszewski
AU  - Lisa Gualtieri
AU  - Andrew Krause
AU  - Laurie Marrauld
AU  - Camille Nebeker
AU  - Olga Perski
AU  - David Simons
AU  - Jennifer Taylor
AU  - Paquito Bernard
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/23
JO  - The Lancet Digital Health
DO  - 10.1016/s2589-7500(20)30130-8
UR  - https://hal.science/hal-05836745v1
AB  - In 2019, The Shift Project1The Shift ProjectLean ICT: towards digital sobriety—report of the working group directed by Hugues Ferreboeuf for the Think Tank The Shift Project.https://theshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Lean-ICT-Report_The-Shift-Project_2019.pdfDate: March, 2019Date accessed: May 1, 2020Google Scholar published a report to increase awareness of the environmental effects of information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly smartphone production and use, the multiplication of connected Internet of things (IoT) devices (eg, smartwatches), and data traffic and storage. The conclusion of the report is straightforward: trends in digital consumption are not sustainable with respect to required energy and materials and systems-wide action is needed. Here, we aim to promote reflection on the environmental implications of ICTs in the health sector. Digital technologies production and their use overall is likely to rise sharply in the 2020s, increasing global energy consumption.1The Shift ProjectLean ICT: towards digital sobriety—report of the working group directed by Hugues Ferreboeuf for the Think Tank The Shift Project.https://theshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Lean-ICT-Report_The-Shift-Project_2019.pdfDate: March, 2019Date accessed: May 1, 2020Google Scholar, 2Elmeligi A Assessing ICT global emissions footprint: trends to 2040 & recommendations.J Clean Prod. 2018; 177: 448-463Crossref Scopus (149) Google Scholar The digital health sector follows these trends, driven in part by precision medicine—ie, growth in the physical activity and sleep devices market, health apps, and IoT health-care devices, which contribute increased data traffic and storage. The specific environmental effects of this industry are threefold. First, digital technology production and use are consuming a greater proportion of worldwide electricity, which ultimately increases greenhouse gas emissions and seriously undermines the energy objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement.1The Shift ProjectLean ICT: towards digital sobriety—report of the working group directed by Hugues Ferreboeuf for the Think Tank The Shift Project.https://theshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Lean-ICT-Report_The-Shift-Project_2019.pdfDate: March, 2019Date accessed: May 1, 2020Google Scholar, 2Elmeligi A Assessing ICT global emissions footprint: trends to 2040 & recommendations.J Clean Prod. 2018; 177: 448-463Crossref Scopus (149) Google Scholar Second, digital technology production requires metal consumption, and the extraction and life cycle of metal significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and soil pollution, particularly since digital devices are not well recycled.1The Shift ProjectLean ICT: towards digital sobriety—report of the working group directed by Hugues Ferreboeuf for the Think Tank The Shift Project.https://theshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Lean-ICT-Report_The-Shift-Project_2019.pdfDate: March, 2019Date accessed: May 1, 2020Google Scholar 28 million metric tons of electronic waste are generated yearly worldwide (65% from Europe and North America),3Caravanos J Clarke EE Osei CS Amoyaw-Osei Y Exploratory health assessment of chemical exposures at e-waste recycling and scrapyard facility in Ghana.J Health Pollut. 2013; 3: 11-22Crossref Google Scholar with much of the waste exported to low-income and middle-income countries. To access the metals, devices are commonly broken or burned to remove plastic casings, which leads to significant health issues among workers and local residents living near places where e-waste is processed.3Caravanos J Clarke EE Osei CS Amoyaw-Osei Y Exploratory health assessment of chemical exposures at e-waste recycling and scrapyard facility in Ghana.J Health Pollut. 2013; 3: 11-22Crossref Google Scholar Third, some metals that are needed to produce digital technologies (eg, niobium and tantalum, from the metallic ore coltan) could be extracted unethically or illegally, such as via child labour and slavery.4Patrignani N The challenge of ICT long-term sustainability.Visions Sustain. 2017; 7: 54-59DOI: 10.13135/2384-8677/2233Google Scholar Moreover, most rare metals are produced in conflict zones or controlled by monopolistic entities, which causes environmental problems and creates fragility in supply chains.1The Shift ProjectLean ICT: towards digital sobriety—report of the working group directed by Hugues Ferreboeuf for the Think Tank The Shift Project.https://theshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Lean-ICT-Report_The-Shift-Project_2019.pdfDate: March, 2019Date accessed: May 1, 2020Google Scholar These issues, coupled with inherent planetary limits, raise questions about our capacity to continue to access and build health devices in the future.5Henckens MLCM van Ierland EC Driessen PPJ Worrell E Mineral resources: geological scarcity, market price trends, and future generations.Resour Policy. 2016; 49: 102-111Crossref Scopus (79) Google Scholar To be sure, the health sector is not solely responsible for the negative impacts of ICTs. Most data flows are attributable to services from the GAFAM/BATX group (ie, Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft; Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi).1The Shift ProjectLean ICT: towards digital sobriety—report of the working group directed by Hugues Ferreboeuf for the Think Tank The Shift Project.https://theshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Lean-ICT-Report_The-Shift-Project_2019.pdfDate: March, 2019Date accessed: May 1, 2020Google Scholar Moreover, digital health (because of its laudable goals) might deserve prioritisation over other sectors. Digital health technologies have revolutionised medical practice and could feasibly reduce carbon emissions via strategies such as telemedicine. We are not arguing to stop scientific and medical progress. Rather, our goal is to raise awareness and offer possible actions towards a more sustainable digital health system. In the panel, we…
SN  - 2589-7500
ER  -