XPrize’s Latest Challenge: Getting AI to Better Predict Wuhan Virus Transmission Rates

Engadget reported on Tuesday, November 17, 2020.

The CCP virus pandemic resulted not only in loss of life, but also in the closure of businesses and loss of global livelihoods due to the necessary embargo. It has had a significant economic impact on a wide range of industries, and experts believe that the world will continue to feel the effects for years to come, even after a vaccine is available.

However, it is unclear when the vaccine will be available, and local economies will need to reopen as soon as possible. To find ways to safely reopen societies in a pandemic, XPrize has partnered with Cognizant to launch a new competition with a prize of $500,000.

XPrize’s Pandemic Response Challenge will allow participants to build data-driven AI models that can predict the rate of spread of local viruses. Participants will also need to specify interventions and mitigation measures, and test them using “what-if” scenarios to show that they can minimize infection rates and limit the impact on the economy. Negative Impact. The teams’ creations will be based on technology and AI models developed by Cognizant, and will use data collected by the Oxford COVID-19 government response tracker.

Amir Banifatemi, XPRIZE’s chief innovation and growth officer, said in a statement: “This challenge will inspire some of the world’s brightest innovators to address direct threats to our economies and livelihoods. Through global collaboration, the outcome of this challenge could be a game changer when using data and artificial intelligence to create recovery pathways through a series of economic scenarios created by competing teams. With the advent of vaccines, these predictive and illustrative models of the open society will continue to be valuable for the foreseeable future. ”

Unlike other XPrize competitions that take years to complete, the Pandemic Response Challenge will last only four months, until its conclusion in February 2021. For the first phase (which will end on December 22nd), teams will focus on providing accurate communication predictions as well as having unique intervention strategies and mitigation policies and practices. The top 50 teams will move on to the second and final phase of the competition.

The organization has chosen to adopt a shortened timeline to help “end the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects” as quickly as possible. To date, 102 teams from 23 countries have registered to participate. Back in July, the XPrize organization also launched a $5 million competition to make virus testing faster, cheaper, and easier.