What role will technology firms play in the re-opening?
This week, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced six criteria that would need to be met before the state’s stay-at-home order, one of the most draconian in the country, could be modified or lifted:
1. Widespread testing
2. Care for older and vulnerable Californians
3. Hospital capacity for another surge
4. Identifying promising treatments
5. Physical distancing guidelines for schools and businesses
6. Data-tracking system with early warning
In the same week, Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, made comments suggesting the public should be more grateful for the role tech is playing in resolving the pandemic. He said, “so let’s be a little bit grateful that these companies got the capital, did the investment, built the tools that we’re using now and have really helped us out. Imagine having the same reality of this pandemic without these tools.”
The natural next question is, how will tech firms be able to support the re-opening of society with steps such as those outlined by Governor Newsom? It seems there are multiple ways:
Tracking
Google and Apple announced this week, in a very rare collaboration for the major rivals, that they will work together to enable the use of Bluetooth, APIs and operating system-level technology to help government agencies reduce the spread of the virus. First, both companies will release APIs so that apps from public health authorities are interoperable between iOS and Android. Second, they will ‘work to enable a broader Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform…a more robust solution than an API that would allow more individuals to participate’.
The two firms stress the importance of privacy, transparency and consent, but naturally the idea of two tech giants tracking our location will strike fear in to the hearts of many. However, if that is the only way for us to return to a semblance of normal life, many will be willing to accept the compromise.
Identity and verification
Identity and verification will be likely be key aspects of the systems that bring us back to normal life. For instance, some have suggested some form of immunity passports, which would certify that a person has already contracted the virus, recovered and therefore now had the antibodies required to be immune. The idea has been floated in Germany, Italy and the UK.
Fundamental to any such effort is likely to be a form of lightweight identity and verification technology, such as that provided by Onfido, who raised $100m this week led by TPG growth. Onfido claims to use artificial intelligence to read an individual’s identity documents, and then uses facial recognition to verify whether or not there is a match. Current customers include banks and recruiters, but Onfido said it will use the new funds in part to work on new use cases for COVID-19, including virtual voting and contact tracking.
Logistics
Amazon, as perhaps the world’s leading logistics business, has shown how technology can allow critical goods to reach their destinations more efficiently than ever before. For instance, the firm has been able to increase order capacity by 60% during to the pandemic. It has done this in part by hiring over 100,000 people since March 16, showing the rapid scalability of Amazon’s platform. Even as the US reopens, it will need excellent logistics to continue to meet the needs of a socially distanced population.
3D printing
Another technology that has found new uses during this pandemic is 3D printing. For instance, Katherine Li Johnson, a native New Yorker now based in Tunisia, has founded New York Calling, a collective making and supplying masks to hospitals. Each mask consists of a 3D printed frame, and a plastic sheet that pops in to the frame. It takes an hour to print each shield, whose specifications are openly available online.
The group’s production capabilities are expanding all the time, and this is just one of several outfits around the country and the world who are doing the same. This is one of many examples of how this pandemic has caused technologies that were already extant to be adopted in unexpected and expanded ways by society.
Biotech
Of course in many ways the most critical technology for reopening will be pharmaceutical in nature. This will eventually allow successful antibody testing, and ultimately a vaccine. For instance, the biotech company Cellex produced the first antibody test to receive FDA approval earlier this month. This test requires a blood sample that can be analysed in 15 to 20 minutes to give results. Once technology like this is widely available, we may all have the confidence to hug our loved ones again.
It seems clear that technology firms, large and small, can play a major role in facilitating the changes needed for us to re-open. One thing is sure: when life does return to normal, more than a little gratitude will be in order.
