General Intelligence
UN Warns Most A.I. Isn’t Ready to Fight the Coronavirus
Plus an algorithm that can teach robots soccer, and a facial recognition hack that makes you look like Mr. Bean
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Machine learning researchers around the world are racing to apply their skills, from computer vision to natural language processing, to tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
But a new report from the United Nations’ artificial intelligence initiative, Global Pulse; the World Health Organization; and the Mila Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute warns that there’s far more work to be done before A.I. can have a meaningful impact on the situation.
“We note that very few of the reviewed systems have operational maturity at this stage,” the report says. “In order to operationalize this research, it is important to define a research road map and a funnel for A.I. applications to understand how this technology can immediately assist with the response, how it might help later on in the evolution of the current pandemic, and how it can be used to combat future pandemics.”