It was an AI that first saw it coming, or so the story goes. On December 30, an artificial-intelligence company called BlueDot, which usesย machine learningย to monitor outbreaks of infectious diseases around the world, alerted clientsโincluding various governments, hospitals, and businessesโto an unusual bump in pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. It would be another nine days before the World Health Organization officially flagged what weโve all come to know asย Covid-19.
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That AI could spot an outbreak on the other side of the world is pretty amazing, and early warnings save lives. But how much has AI really helped in tackling the current outbreak?
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The hype outstrips the reality. In fact, the narrative that has appeared in many news reports and breathless press releasesโthat AI is a powerful new weapon against diseasesโis only partly true and risks becoming counterproductive. For example, too much confidence in AIโs capabilities could lead to ill-informed decisions that funnel public money to unproven AI companies at the expense of proven interventions.
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So hereโs a reality check: AI will not save us from the coronavirusโcertainly not this time. But thereโs every chance it will play a bigger role in future epidemicsโif we make some big changes.
