AI Weekly: The sudden speed of technological change in a coronavirus world

Article by Seth Colaner.

COVID-19 waits for no one, and the speed of its spread has forced the world to act quickly. From world governments to individual households, all of sudden everyone has had to scrap plans, make new ones, and try to hang on to some kind of new normal as the pandemic causes more unexpected and rapid shifts.

Looking at the tech world, it’s been quite a sight to watch everyone move so fast. As I wrote a few weeks ago, there’s been a digital flotilla of tech people focusing on, and turning their expertise towards, solving the problems related to COVID-19. But with increased speed comes increased noise, which is a mixed blessing. […]

Another challenge is separating the do-gooders from the charlatans. When is a company truly being selfless, and when are they just using the pandemic to slip in some positive marketing about their widget? And when is it both? It’s always hard to tell — one should generally be suspicious any time a for-profit company proclaims altruism — but in the noise, it’s even more difficult. Of course, even if there are knock-on or hidden benefits for companies that give away valuable things for free, it’s hard not to be pleased with what IBM, Google, smaller companies like Element AI, and many others, have done to foster research and collaboration in the fight against COVID-19. […]

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