People keep saying it - everything has changed. The speed and scale of the COVID-19 outbreak took the world by surprise and in just 100 days by storm – dramatically affecting how we live, work, socialise, move, teach, govern, fund, build and provide care. And it is beginning to look like it will impact daily life for much longer than most of us could ever have anticipated. COVID-19 is the third coronavirus to become an epidemic this century, alongside multiple waves of Ebola and two animal influenzas. But this time, in an historic first, half the world has been living under some form of lockdown - probably the single most extensive and collective act ever undertaken by humanity. So, what can we – must we – learn today to help us better prepare for further disruptions in the future? For me the key lesson is coming together.
Although much about this virus currently remains unknown, there are already key learnings emerging around its management – clear consistent communication and speed in response clearly matter in its containment alongside early and extensive testing, and physical/social distancing plays a pivotal role too. Further, the global nature of COVID-19 means no country can be seen in isolation. With the different approaches adopted, from the US, to China, to Europe - local, regional, national and international cooperation, organisation and coordination to share both ‘what works… and what doesn’t’ is key. Integrating knowledge rather keeping it in silos and sharing facts not speculation, unintentionally or otherwise, can help save lives.
Trust is also an imperative to our success in this fight. Trust that government is working for your good and that governments are working together; trust in our fellow citizens on following the rules, trust in technology to support us, and trust in the proper treatment of personal data, especially in relation to the rapid rise of 'track and trace' apps, which must balance personal privacy with insights for the collective good. Establishing structures that facilitate the use of data for the ‘common good’ can greatly help here and with AI in particular, international cooperation to address policy, governance, regulatory and technological challenges. But above all, it is trust that is a founding principle in all relationships and with people being asked to trust new forms of technology every day, it is the anchor that allows us to advance social progress. Trust in each other - and trust in tech has never mattered more.
Demand, supply, ethics and sustainability have also come to the fore over this time. We have seen a significant drop in pollution worldwide and the pandemic has both caused and exposed fault lines in supply chains and systems and in some cases, a re-personalisation of our relationship with them. Take food as an example, possibly for the first time in a long time, people are stopping to consciously think and appreciate, where did this come from? Similarly around clothing, people across the world are also commenting whether this could be the beginning of the end of so called ‘fast-fashion’. We are actively re-evaluating our relationships.
And beyond this, I see that the COVID 19 pandemic is proving to be catalyst in developing our understanding and perspectives across a whole range of areas:
- a new level of appreciation for roles that are often taken for granted
- the strength we all have in community – what bonds and connects us
- an extended role for science and evidence based decision making in public policy
- the need for expanded global collaboration, organisation and leadership
- a revaluation of global supply chains and embedding sustainability by design
- the value in an ethos of cooperation above competition for social good
- the impact of AI and Machine Learning data analytics on decision making
- a new net-zero: the redefinition of the (shared) value of data
- the art of the possible: hybrid ways of working and learning
- digital equity for all as a renewed global priority
- greater awareness of the capacities of technology as a unifying force for good
- the level of innovation that can be achieved during emergency contexts
- the power of people, education and integrative technology in partnership
Indeed, it is when talent, technology and collaboration come together, that incredible advances can be achieved and at scale. This is exemplified in the solidarity of the technology sector to make a difference, bringing people closer across work, learning and entertainment despite lockdowns, and combating the virus through telemedicine and AI-assisted diagnosis, alongside helping to accelerate the research and drug development innovation curve.
A notable example is the rapid establishment of the HPC Consortium involving 11 tech firms assisting federal government, industry and academic leaders across the world with access to expertise and high performance computing capacity. Another is the establishment of the European COVID-19 Data Platform to enable the rapid collection and sharing of available research data. With mobilization like this, it is no surprise that by early April 2020, 50 potential vaccines and nearly 100 possible treatment drugs were in development. A feat that would have been unimaginable just a few weeks before and emergency initiatives and innovations like this can also lay the ground for long term change - from business and education, to healthcare and government.
We have also seen organisations stepping up to provide flexible financing and/or licensing terms or opening-up access to products and services. A great example is Huawei offering free technology services, to provide vital support across remote office, Artificial Intelligence, enterprise assistance, smart healthcare, and online education. This can benefit a whole range of users but especially those that have needed the most adaptation. It has also brought to the fore the global imperative of addressing the digital equity gap so that everyone can benefit equally from the opportunities digital brings, a fantastic example of actualising that here. And finally, with people longing to socialize, we have also seen technology stepping up to keep connectivity alive, creativity in flow and spirits uplifted – the very ethos of people and technology in partnership.
And we can go further still. Putting this into context, just twenty years ago the technology vision was for all computing devices to communicate, and for all communicating devices to compute. The rapid development, convergence and integration across digital technologies have resulted in a dynamic new vision whereby all things are increasingly sensing, intelligent and connected as recently discussed at the Huawei Global Analyst Summit 2020. Catalysed by these advances and brought to life in the keynote, all industries are going digital. And this affords significant opportunities for individual and collective growth - across countries, regions and communities, and for government, business and society too.
The relationship between leveraging digital technology to accelerate progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals across social, environment and economic issues is well established. And with the ‘intelligent world’ coming fast we have a collective opportunity and responsibility to harness this for good. From healthcare and welfare, to education and human rights protection, technology can democratise access to opportunity, whilst breaking down social and geographical barriers. This pandemic has already shown how technology can augment and amplify our human intellectual capabilities in partnership, and to do this with speed, scale and international cross-sector collaboration. And companies both stepping up and coming together - from the HPC Consortium, to Huawei, to the European Data Platform - demonstrates just how harnessing tech for good globally has a vital role to play in our societal progress and rebuilding post COVID-19. There are other critical challenges too, from climate change, to digital inequity, to making the web a better place and pausing to reflect now to interpret the present, will help us enable a better collective future.
Concluding, I believe COVID-19 is the defining event for an entire generation. This pandemic should serve as an urgent reminder to support, come together and achieve all the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goal’s and their 169 targets — including one calling for universal health coverage with safe, effective, quality and affordable vaccines for all. COVID-19’s legacy will profoundly change many aspects of our way of working, learning and living, changing the very nature of our society, some of which will understandably be challenging.
But there will be positives too, indeed we must ensure this is the case. From recognising what value really means, to our collective strength, innovation and resilience under pressure and the integrative power of intelligent technology to be harnessed for good. Although we have all experienced degrees of isolation, it is through collectivism not isolationism that we can achieve the meaningful and at times what feels the impossible – it is through this ethos we can beat COVID-19 too. Above all, I believe this pandemic serves to illustrate how much stronger we are if we can lean on each other and the reality of how precious life really is.
About the Author
Prof. Sally Eaves is a highly experienced Chief Technology Officer, Professor in Advanced Technologies and a Global Strategic Advisor on Digital Transformation specialising in the application of emergent technologies, notably AI, FinTech, Blockchain & 5G disciplines, for business transformation and social impact at scale. An international Keynote Speaker and Author, Sally was an inaugural recipient of the Frontier Technology and Social Impact award, presented at the United Nations and has been described as the ‘torchbearer for ethical tech’ - founding Aspirational Futures to enhance inclusion, diversity and belonging in the technology space and beyond.
