Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have become the most innovative technologies that offer better insights into an issue and faster solutions to it at the same time. Currently, when the world is suffering from a pandemic situation because of COVID-19, it becomes important to explore these technologies to check if they can help the world when it actually needs deeper insights and beneficial solutions.
CNET and CBS News’ Senior Producer Dan Patterson made an effort to find out how AI may help in finding an effective coronavirus vaccine to control the pandemic. In conversation with World Economic Forum’s Managing Director Murat Sonmez, Patterson tried to explore how big data and machine learning can help the world in such an emergency situation.
“A key part of that is artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML),” Sonmez said, referring to the new innovative technological advancements. “And we can come up with the insights far better and faster than human experts can. But it thrives on data.”
The M.D. clearly stated that AI and ML are all about studying the data collected. The more comprehensive the data sets are, the better are the insights obtained. He threw light on the access to data that is very much required to make sure the right set of data is used for the right purpose. “If you can combine all of that and put it into a common place, then we can use advanced analytic capabilities, which I would describe as machine learning, where the engine itself will come up with insights, faster and better than human intelligence,” he added.
Sonmez admitted further than machine learning algorithms come up with new insights quicker than human experts provided they get a sufficient amount of data to represent the situation in an accurate manner. If COVID-19 data sets are properly gathered and analyzed, the ML algorithm will come up with the hypothesis much faster, giving thorough insights into the situation.
The data, meanwhile, can be obtained from virus research and development centers, healthcare units and hospitals, public places, etc. Hence, it can be assumed that the efforts of scientists all over the world and the inference they have gathered could become a strong basis for the AI and ML algorithm to work in the direction of coronavirus vaccine detection, development, and production.