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Other countries can learn from China's use of AI and big data in the fight against the novel coronavirus

Leading economists are warning that this pandemic will exact a heavy price on the world economy equivalent to the 2008 financial meltdown, if not more. It is worth noting even the world's most powerful country is ill-prepared for it. The various states in the United States have been left to their own devices to cope without the necessary tools and many US citizens are ignoring the experts' exhortations to maintain social distancing. Unsurprisingly, the casualties are mounting steadily. And this is just the beginning. In fact, most other Western democracies have been as ill-prepared as the US.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the German Parliament on March 10 that around 60 to 70 percent of the people in Germany could contract the coronavirus and that thousands of them, mostly the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions, could die. The situation in Italy is dire and triage doctors are sometimes forced to play God due to a severe shortage of basic medical facilities. Meanwhile, Spain is quickly following Italy's tragic path, with many experts warning that the virus spread is actually much higher in Spain than in Italy.

We must bear in mind that, despite the relatively low mortality of the novel coronavirus when compared to other viruses such as Ebola or Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), no country in the world has a health system fully prepared to take care of thousands of people in critical condition, nor can such a system be put in place within weeks or even months.

However, is there a way to stop the virus in its track within a short time? China has proved that the virus can be contained by applying measures that some Western countries have deemed draconian or even contrary to human rights. Yet, eventually, these measures will have to be implemented by most Western countries, despite their reservations because responsible governments must set their priorities, and the lives of their citizens must take priority above everything else.

On top of adopting traditional virus containment measures, the use of artificial intelligence and data science has proven to be effective in China and the Republic of Korea, demonstrating once again that Asia is leading in the AI race.

China's tech sector has produced a dazzling array of useful tools to support the medical community, in response to President Xi Jinping's appeal to help cope with the spread of the virus.

We have seen robots being deployed to do the cleaning and sterilizing in hospital wards, and delivering food and medicine to reduce human-to-human contact. Shenzhen-based Pudu Technology, for example, which usually makes robots for the catering industry, has installed its machines in more than 40 hospitals around the country to support medical staff.

Another Shenzhen-based company, Micro Multi Copter, has deployed drones to deliver medical supplies and conduct thermal imaging.

AI is being used to identify infected or non-compliant individuals. China's advanced (but much criticized in the West) surveillance system is using facial recognition technology from Sense Time to identify people who might have a fever, thereby helping doctors to identify people more likely to have the virus and prevent them from further infecting others.

The use of big data has allowed the creation of Alipay Health Code, first introduced in Hangzhou and currently being rolled out nationwide. It assigns people a color code - green, yellow or red - which grades their health status, based on their medical condition and travel history. It determines whether a citizen should be quarantined or allowed to move in public. People given a green health code are free to roam in public and are given a QR code to access subways, office buildings, and other densely populated public areas.

And Alibaba has unveiled its new AI-powered diagnostic system which can identify novel coronavirus infections with 96-percent accuracy.

The use of chatbots to share information has proved to be useful as well: WeChat (operated by Tencent) has allowed people to access free online health consultation services - a major health education tool considering the novel coronavirus is a new strain of coronavirus inciting fear due to ignorance and the current difficulty of securing a live medical consultation.

Many hospitals all over the world are now struggling to get supplies of surgical masks and detection kits for the virus. In view of the severe shortage of medical personnel and supplies, they should realistically consider adopting the available technology to make up for such shortcomings. But needless to say, such technologies are prompting concerns in the West about privacy.

Western governments should not ignore the fact that China has proven the use of AI and big data can effectively help contain the novel coronavirus. They should consider them with an open mind.

It is said that a crisis can bring out the best, or the worst, of us. Surely it is time for all countries to cooperate by putting aside their differences to overcome this devastating virus which does not respect borders, gender, or ethnicity. This fight may also help bring about internal social unity.

While China has been providing expertise, respirators, and surgical masks to countries such as Iran, Italy and other European countries, the US is focused on blocking borders. It is time for every country to help each other and China to share its AI and big data related expertise to save lives.

The author is a fellow at the CERAO (East Asia Research and Studies Center, UAB) and currently works as a management consultant for a European-based Legal Tech company. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.