How AI has helped in the transportation of vaccine delivery for COVID-19

While driverless trucks may once have seemed like a vision from far off in the future, rapid developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning have placed us on the brink of a new automation age, starting with how we transport goods. Although the logistics sector can sometimes fall behind other early-adopting industries, a 2017 McKinsey study showed that transportation companies using a proactive AI strategy had higher profit margins compared to those that did...

28 June 2021 | Healthcare

CDEI: Public believes tech isn’t being fully utilised to tackle pandemic, greater use depends on governance trust

Research from the UK government’s Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) has found the public believes technology isn’t being fully utilised to tackle the pandemic, but greater use requires trust in how it is governed.

CDEI advises the government on the responsible use of AI and data-driven technologies. Between June and December 2020, the advisory body polled over 12,000 people to gauge sentiment around how such technologies are being used.

Edwina Dunn, Deputy...

5 March 2021 | Ethics & Society

NHS will use AI to improve COVID-19 treatment and shorten hospital stays

The UK’s NHS (National Health Service) will use AI to help improve the outcome for COVID-19 patients and reduce their time spent in hospital.

While the UK’s vaccine rollout is among the fastest in the world – certainly in comparison to its European peers – a series of late lockdowns and initial lack of PPE equipment has put the health service under immense pressure and left the country with one of the highest COVID-19 deaths rates per capita.

The latest lockdown...

18 January 2021 | Healthcare

GTC 2020: Using AI to help put COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror

This year’s GTC is Nvidia’s biggest event yet, but – like the rest of the world – it’s had to adapt to the unusual circumstances we all find ourselves in. Huang swapped his usual big stage for nine clips with such exotic backdrops as his kitchen.

AI is helping with COVID-19 research around the world and much of it is being powered by NVIDIA GPUs. It’s a daunting task, new drugs often cost over $2.5 billion in research and development — doubling every nine years —...

5 October 2020 | Healthcare

Facebook uses AI to help people support each other

Facebook has deployed an AI system which matches people needing support with local heroes offering it.“United we stand, divided we fall” is a clichéd saying—but tackling a pandemic is a collective effort. While we’ve all seen people taking selfish actions, they’ve been more than balanced out by those helping to support their communities.

Facebook has been its usual blessing and a curse during the pandemic. On the one hand, it's helped people to stay connected and...

2 October 2020 | Meta (Facebook)

Deep learning is being used to predict critical COVID-19 cases

Researchers from Tencent, along with other Chinese scientists, are using deep learning to predict critical COVID-19 cases.

Scientists around the world are doing incredible work to increase our understanding of COVID-19. Thanks to their findings, existing medications have been discovered to increase the likelihood of surviving the virus.

Unfortunately, there are still fatalities. People with weakened immune systems or underlying conditions are most at risk, but it’s a...

23 July 2020 | Healthcare

MIT’s AI paints a dire picture if social distancing is relaxed too soon

According to an AI system built by MIT to predict the spread of COVID-19, relaxing social distancing rules too early would be catastrophic.

Social distancing measures around the world appear to be having the desired effect. In many countries, the "curve" appears to be flattening with fewer deaths and hospital admissions per day.

No healthcare system in the world is prepared to handle a vast number of its population hospitalised at once. Even once relatively trivial...

17 April 2020 | Healthcare