Artificial Intelligence and a Pandemic: an Analysis of the Potential Uses and Drawbacks

Excerpt

Pandemics pose unique challenges in that their rapid spread necessitates a quick response on many fronts, from diagnostic modalities to drug development and medical resource allocation and planning. Quarantines that are necessarily implemented, as seen with the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, further strain these efforts, as a result of hospital personnel and researchers potentially being furloughed while being evaluated for symptoms themselves [1]. Not only is the potential lack of staff detrimental to those who have the disease in question, but also to others who may require access to the emergency department or intensive care. Artificial intelligence (AI) methodologies have increasingly been studied as a potential tool to aid in improving existing modalities. The number of research papers being published on COVID-19 and AI have been growing exponentially since March of 2020 [2]. However, while AI has shown immense promise in its ability to help counter the rapid spread of disease in a pandemic, there are significant potential ethical and legal considerations that must be taken into account before it can be used on a widespread scale. …