ARTIFICIAL intelligence application in healthcare has transformed disease diagnosis into the development of drugs. With artificial intelligence, medicines are created within a year which usually takes five years or more.

Electronic health records help to collect, store, access and analyse complicated medical data to design effective treatment. The most common example of artificial intelligence is smart watch, which can analyse data to alert users about health issues and risks.

Modern problems require modern solutions. Healthcare facilities around the world are using artificial intelligence to help manage the coronavirus pandemic. Artificial intelligence in radiology can detect pneumonia with the help of algorithm created in a study at Stanford.

China used artificial intelligence smart glasses to check temperatures of people instantly to help identify coronavirus cases.

We heard about several treatments and medications during this pandemic. The US granted approval for remdesivir, favipiravir was effective in China, hydroxychloroquine was in hype following tweets but was less effective and now plasma therapy is a ray of hope.

BenevolentAI, a UK-based artificial intelligence company, has identified Baricitinib, a drug for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, as a potential treatment for Covid-19. But IT seems to have some serious side-effects and is yet to be tested. Tech giants are using artificial intelligence too to create a Covid-19 vaccine, which is predicted to be available in 18 months.

On the other hand, Quantum Computers can help us respond to coronavirus. D-Wave Systems, a Canadian quantum computing company, has offered free cloud computing time on its quantum computer to Covid-19 researchers.

Pakistan too can reap benefits of artificial intelligence with Presidential Initiative for Artificial Intelligence and Computing Programme. It should have an agreement with certified individuals under which they should be required to stay in Pakistan and work in the same field for at least five years so that our youth can take artificial intelligence applications to next level.

Hafsa Karim

Karachi

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2020