2024 Reports

AI as a Tool of Pandemic Preparedness

Melby, Garrett

Written as a part of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health's Core Curriculum, this Op-Ed explores the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool of pandemic preparedness and disease surveillance. As AI has the potential to process massive data sets with previously impossible speed and insight, it presents a new tool in the arsenal of public health and pandemic response. By surveilling existing data, AI can allow epidemiologists to better identify potential outbreaks in a containable stage, preventing the development of epidemic or pandemic spread. As the economic, environmental, and technical profile of AI tools improves, the reality of AI assisted disease surveillance seems almost inevitable. However, the ethics of expanding health surveillance require reflection and projection to prevent unintended or otherwise harmful impacts on vulnerable populations.