In these unprecedented times, only thing available is the huge volume of data created by the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). These data are made to use by different agencies by using technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data analytics to help us through our times of uncertainty.
Since the analytics is done with the data from the pandemic, David Sogn introduces it as pandemic analytics and says “pandemic analytics is a modern way to combat a problem as old as humanity itself: the proliferation of disease”.
Here is how pandemic analytics and AI will help us through COVID-19
- Detection
In late December 2019, AI platform BlueDot (Canadian startup) spotted unusual strains of pneumonia cases around the markets of Wuhan, China. This was almost nine days before the WHO issued an alert about the danger. BlueDot uses an AI algorithm that gathers data from all the official and less structured sources and analyze this big data, find patterns with Machine Learning (ML). This is done every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day.
These AI and ML are used to detect the infectious diseases even without interacting with any personnel.
- Predictive analytics
Predictive ability of AI comes from the less structured data that it collects from sources like airline tickets, network traffic, satellite data, climatic changes and news reports along with the official source data. With big data analytics, these data are cross referenced with past record of diseases and patterns are found to give alerts. ML algorithm offers the predictive insights on these data.
HCL has employed a Track and Respond technique, wherein alerts are automatically extracted and forecasted which are tracked and predicted to make in-time response.
- Recovery and Cure
The availability of data and democratization of analytics tools have educated the public about how viruses spread and how can it be hindered, a first step for recovery. The world map visualizations from the Johns Hopkins’ Center are a great example for the analytics used for good.
Finding a cure or vaccine might typically take years, but thanks to AI and ML, it can expedite the process of drug development. AI is already being used to diagnose COVID-19 by imaging analysis and is also used in CT scans for faster results. It is a hope that AI will help Medical researchers accelerate the search for COVID-19 and flatten the curve of infection spread.
What we are witnessing now is a real time, world-wide demonstration of the power of data in early detection to save lives, to design recovery models and to create better outcomes.
