Artificial Intelligence Expert Neil Sahota Says AI Can And Is Providing Solutions To COVID-19 Pandemic In Five Key Areas

LOS ANGELES, April 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert Neil Sahota says the COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way we live our lives, but AI can provide solutions in at least five key areas that will reduce the current impact from the disease and help prevent future disasters.

Business guru and master inventor Sahota, author of Own the AI Revolution (McGraw-Hill), says that with good data and careful modeling "AI actually can and is already helping reduce the impact from the disease on our lives."

Sahota says there are five key areas that the sophisticated computer solutions offered by AI should focus on:

"First, there is real concern that COVID-19 may return in upcoming Fall/Winter months or may even mutate and become a seasonal virus like influenza," Sahota says. "Thankfully, we can leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and generative design to help us. They can identify millions of potential COVID-19 mutations, and by applying environmental factors, can present healthcare researchers with the ten to twenty most likely mutations for the upcoming seasons. Armed with this knowledge (and virus genomics), the researchers could start identifying preventive measures, or perhaps even a 'flu shot,' before the viral outbreak occurs."

Second, AI can help manage the supply chain of equipment and people that have been disrupted by the virus. "Getting equipment and people to where they are needed the most has been such a challenge that reportedly the FDA has been leveraging Twitter to manage things," Sahota says. "We already have AI tools and deep analytic solutions that can be applied to predict COVID-19 hotspots, allowing us to route medical supplies, equipment and healthcare practitioners more effectively." Leveraging real-time micro-location technology like SmartPoint enables load balancing where people go for testing and treatment while minimizing wait times for test results.

Third, AI can help secure food production. "While we have a solid supply of food, there is concern about food production in just a few months. The FDA just released new guidelines on food production and safety to protect workers and people from COVID-19. However, there is real concern about the supply chain. Already, farmers are seeing challenges in getting enough workers to harvest food, and that's not something that can wait a week (or even a few days for certain fruits and vegetables.) Likewise, food handlers and distributors are worried about safety precautions to help them avoid disease, and everyone is concerned that food can get contaminated with COVID-19. Food exports from other countries are also a concern. Thankfully AI offers a host of agricultural technology solutions that can improve food production with fewer resources and people."

Fourth, AI can aid in generating jobs. "About 10 million jobs were lost in just two weeks; worse, current estimates predict about 47 million jobs in the United States lost because of COVID-19, which is about 32% of the U.S. workforce. AI offers a short-term solution that can be scaled to a long-term fix, and, potentially, create better paying jobs for people. We have tools and infrastructure to teach people online the skills that they need to be community health workers, learn advanced skills and receive other training that would be a huge boon to getting jobs that would have immediate demand."

Fifth, AI can provide for mental health needs. "COVID-19 has put a lot of stress on all of us," Sahota notes. "There's fear about getting ill, dying, losing jobs, not paying mortgages, cabin fever, and so forth. Even after we bounce back from COVID-19, there's real concern that many people will suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), alcoholism, depression, etc. In a time of social distancing, we can't exactly see a therapist (at least in person). Thanks to the psychographic profiling capabilities of AI, we can create non-judgmental AI outlets to talk with and help maintain good mental health practices. Using AI solutions like Cyrano.ai and Woebot, people have these outlets to deal with their stress and get. Hopefully we will emerge from COVID-19 with more robust mental health and less addiction problems so that we can more effectively work on rebuilding our lives, jobs, businesses, and normal social interactions."

About Neil Sahota: Neil Sahota is a futurist and leading expert on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other next generation technologies. He is the author of Own the AI Revolution (McGraw Hill) and works with the United Nations on the AI for Good initiative. Sahota is also an IBM Master Inventor, former leader of the IBM Watson Group and professor at the University of California/Irvine. His work spans multiple industries, including legal services, healthcare, life sciences, retail, travel, transportation, energy, utilities, automotive, telecommunications, media, and government.

SOURCE Neil Sahota

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