The "Drunkometer" to Digital Apps: How Technology Changes the Way We Drink

The NIH Institute on Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) has issued a national challenge to design a wearable or discreet device to measure blood alcohol levels. Tonight’s discussion examines the history and current research on alcohol consumption and the promise of new technology. First used by the criminal justice system to enforce drunk driving laws, alcohol monitoring technology now has the potential to improve personal health and aid scientific research. Moderated by Gary Wolf, writer and contributing editor at Wired magazine and co-founder of Quantified Self. Panelists will include Dr. George Koob, director of the NIAAA; Susan Cheever, author of Drinking in America: Our Secret History; and Dr. William Rorabaugh, history professor at the University of Washington and author of The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition.