Can AI help prevent COVID-19? Can it be used to predict or detect outbreaks, and would this be ethical?
Can AI help prevent the spread of COVID-19? Recently, we released an article on the technological initiatives being put in place across Europe to help control the spread of the novel COVID-19. In our latest vlog series, we aim to explore any AI initiatives which may have been implemented globally in this regard, to what extent AI can help fight this global pandemic, and what the privacy implications of these would be in Europe. As the virus spreads globally, and cases have shown up in over 200 countries worldwide, even more initiatives are popping up around the globe to help combat this pandemic.
Last December, a Toronto based startup, through analyzing the data published on the local newspapers and the information available on the internet, identified a cluster of unusual pneumonia cases happening around a market in Wuhan. Thus, the AI based platform, BlueDot was able to identify what would commonly be known as COVID-19, nine days before the World Health Organisation released its statement informing people of the emergence of this virus, mere hours after health officials diagnosed the first cases of coronavirus.
Currently, countries like South Korea, using apps which track location data, are able to constantly monitor infected and non infected persons, and their movements. AI can also be used to analyze the way in which the disease is being discussed on social media, to paint a more vivid picture of the impact of the virus. It is no secret that AI can help prevent COVID-19’s spread and flatten the curve, but what are the privacy implications of such measures being used in Europe? Do they fall in line with the GDPR?
In our latest vlog, part 1 of a two part series on the use of AI in the fight against COVID-19, we explore how AI can prevent or predict the spread of this viral disease:
Be sure to subscribe to our content on YouTube, to make sure that you catch Part 2.
