IBM developing AI tool to track virus infections

FILIPINOS will soon be able to track the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country through an AI-enabled tool developed by the International Business Machines Corp. (IBM).

“The tool provides trend graphs, interactive mapping and details on confirmed cases and deaths by state and county in the US — Philippine data coming soon — as well as the latest news and video,” the US-based multinational technology company said in a statement emailed to reporters on Monday.

The IBM offers the tool through The Weather Channel mobile app and its website weather.com.

“The Weather Channel digital team knows how to cover severe events at a local level and is using that expertise to provide this data in a visual way to help people get trusted information related to specific locations they care most about,” it said.

IBM added that it has also designed an interactive dashboard based on IBM Cognos Analytics to help media organizations and data scientists conduct more indepth analysis and filtering of regional data.

IBM’s The Weather Company General Manager Cameron Clayton was quoted as saying: “As the coronavirus causes uncertainty in our daily lives, we are all looking for data to help us make more informed decisions and check on our family and friends in different areas. With that in mind, we feel it's critical to provide the most trusted information currently available to help people stay informed on the reach of COVID-19.”

“The Weather Channel is now providing COVID-19 data — so you can see why social distancing matters in your community and why it’s important to heed instructions from your local, state and national resources,” he added.

IBM said its tools provide localized data from the World Health Organization and national, state and local governments. Such data include confirmed cases, deaths, and recoveries, among others. —