Over the Horizon, Wearable Laboratories,
AI
, and Other Advances: Potential Pitfalls and Opportunities for Human Biology Research
Bribiescas Richard G ABSTRACT
The 50th Anniversary of the Human Biology Association (HBA) in 2025 marked the beginning of a new era of scientific inquiry, methods, and theoretical advances. Reflecting on the history and future of scientific research by HBA members provided an opportunity to recognize the scientific advances of the membership, opportunities to improve advancement of our core mission and values, as well as identify potential vulnerabilities that merit attention and vigilance. In this symposium at the annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, the goal was to identify key areas of scientific inquiry that are likely to define the next 50 years of human biology. Symposium contributors outlined potential future directions and pitfalls serving to guide membership and the scientific community. As symposium organizer, I argue that human biology is uniquely situated to benefit from emerging technologies and contribute to applied and basic science. But it is vital to maintain a scientific identity that engages with and embraces evolutionary biology and theory as well as biocultural methods. While technological advances should be embraced and incorporated into human biology research, vigilance for misuse and overinterpretation of results is necessary. A summary and synthesis of each presentation is discussed.