A recent article by Computer Weekly sheds some light on how developers large and small are mobilising around the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak to create new ways of dealing with the crisis using technology.
Although most of the tools being developed at the moment are focused on tracking the spread of the virus, the projects range from chatbots and data visualisation software to tools that will help self-employed people claim financial relief.
And it is not only the established research institutions and companies with financial backing that are doing their bit – numerous small start-ups are appearing, wanting to help their communities.
Some great examples in the area of tracking include:
- The Covid Symptom Tracker – to help see how the virus is spreading and who is most at risk
- TrackTogether, an app built by three twentysomethings in London over the space of a weekend.
- Other tracking apps, including a team of medical experts at Oxford University that are collaborating with NHSX to explore the feasibility of a coronavirus mobile app for instant contact tracing.
When it comes to supporting businesses and the self-employed, a number of organisations are also developing or providing free access to already-existing tools to help a variety of organisations and sectors cope with the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.
Mindsay, for example, does “customer experience automation” for the travel and hospitality industry, and will be offering free access to a dedicated Covid-19 customer support chatbot for a period of three months.
Anonymous workplace misconduct reporting service Vault Platform, whose clients have reported an “uptick” in Coronavirus-related racial discrimination since mid-February, has added a Covid-19 reporting feature to its enterprise mobile app.
To ease communication between NHS health workers and those being treated at this time, artificial intelligence-powered videoconferencing platform PixselChat will be releasing its beta for use earlier than intended.
While products like Skype and Zoom only allow for communication in one language, PixselChat allows for instant video, speech or text conversations in over 100 languages.
Others, like business intelligence software provider Panintelligence, have committed to aiding struggling firms in their local regions. While it is usually reserved for software suppliers, Panintelligence will be making its full software package available for 90 days so that local businesses are better able to navigate the situation through real-time data monitoring.
To help the self-employed, as salaried workers are entitled to sick pay if their ability to work is compromised by the virus or any other illness, financial technology (fintech) professionals have created Covid Credit, a cloud-based tool developed with open banking technology to help people prove their income losses.
Caution
While many of the applications popping up to deal with the coronavirus are legitimately designed to help people through the outbreak, analysis of Android telemetry from Google Play and other third-party marketplaces has revealed that both relatively harmless opportunist developers and malicious cyber criminals are getting involved. Bitdefender researchers, for example, identified 579 apps that contained coronavirus-related keywords in their manifest. While 560 were deemed as legitimate, others had nothing to do with the virus, and some even contained malicious adware or malware, said Bitdefender.
According to Jeni Tennison, CEO of the Open Data Institute, it is critical that best practices are still being followed around the responsible and ethical development of technology. “The approaches and impact of what gets built today may be with us for some time, so we need to have an eye on long term consequences even as we’re meeting immediate needs,” she said.
Technology is not a silver bullet
Jeni also points out that over half of one of the most at-risk groups, older people over 75, don’t use the internet. Nearly half of those over 55 years old don’t have a smartphone.
“Technology would be best targeted at helping people help the neediest”.
To read the full article – https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Coronavirus-how-app-developers-large-and-small-are-working-to-help-fight-Covid-19?src=6089147#comment
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