AI Solutionism and Digital Self-Tracking with Wearables
This paper critically examines how AI-driven self-tracking technologies (e.g., Oura Ring)—through automated data collection and large language model (LLM)-generated insights—undermine user autonomy and reflective capacity. Grounded in the novel application of “AI solutionism” theory to digital health, it advances the central thesis that “automation erodes agency.” Employing a mixed-methods approach—including HCI experiments, phenomenological analysis of technology experience, and empirical observation of wearable device usage—within a critical technical practice framework, the study identifies mechanisms by which algorithmic health feedback diminishes cognitive engagement and impedes sustained behavioral change. Key contributions include: (1) mapping systematic pathways through which automation attenuates agentic capacities; (2) proposing human-centered design strategies to recalibrate technological empowerment boundaries; and (3) formulating ethically grounded design principles and an intervention framework for responsible AI-enabled health applications. (149 words)