Raj Reddy: Smartwatches for Pandemic Control and AI at the Service of Humanity

Raj Reddy, winner of the prestigious Turing Award and a pioneer in the field of computer science, has a vision of a future where smart devices like smartwatches could play a key role in preventing pandemic measures like lockdowns. But his view of technology goes much wider. Reddy highlights the importance of using big data for health predictions, but also for wider social welfare, including combating malicious content on social networks.

Raj Reddy: Smart watches for a healthier society

Imagine if smartwatches, which many of us use, especially for training, could be used so that there would never be the famous “lockdowns” – quarantines, lockdowns. To listen to the user’s health data in advance and predict that a person might get sick and just order that person to stay home in time.

Raj Reddy believes that smartwatches and similar devices have the potential to revolutionize the management of future pandemics. By collecting data on the user’s health – from heart rate and blood oxygen levels to temperature – these devices could enable monitoring and early detection of disease at the individual and population level.

“We need data at the level of millions of people – X-rays, MRIs, and information on the health status of large populations,” explains Reddy.

Such data would enable advanced AI algorithms for prediction, localization and rapid response to epidemics, which would avoid extreme measures such as lockdowns. However, he admits that this is currently a very expensive technology, inaccessible to a large part of the world’s population. For the control of pandemics, it is the states that should provide the technology to the citizens. However, only at the US level, such an undertaking would be financially unfeasible.

Such predictions require large data sets to train and fine-tune the model. And how do you like the possibility of someone monitoring your temperature, heart rate, pressure and a number of other parameters, in order to make some major decisions? Is it an invasion and violation of privacy and what happens to the user’s data, how protected are they. Since public health institutions are state-owned, how do you feel about the idea of ​​someone from the government using your data, even if it was anonymous?

Data sharing: the key to better AI

Reddy emphasizes that the key to the success of artificial intelligence is access to large databases. This is the only way to ensure quality training of AI systems that would serve the common good. However, user privacy remains one of the biggest issues. “We have to find a balance between benefiting from data and protecting privacy,” he points out.

Although tech giants like Amazon often focus on projects that bring them the most profit, Reddy calls for greater social responsibility in AI development. ” Technology should help illiterate people to become literate and provide everyone with access to education and information,” he says.

Reddy sees AI as a tool for social transformation, for literacy, but warns of challenges. He especially emphasizes the problem of languages ​​spoken by a small number of people, calling them “orphan languages.” These languages ​​are not a priority in the development of AI systems, further marginalizing the communities that use them.

By the way, Reddy was born in a village in India and certainly has a lot of sensibility for issues of illiteracy and poverty.

Malicious content and social media liability

In addition to the health and educational application of AI, Reddy also looks at the problem of the spread of malicious content on social networks, especially in a political context . “Those deemed malicious or problematic may be delayed for a week or two,” he explains.

Manipulations during elections , according to him, often boil down to creating false stories that cause damage before they can be denied.

“You can retract them and say they were never true, but the damage is already done,” warns Reddy. His proposal is to prevent the publication of such content in advance. ” We should stop such things in advance, postpone them for a day or a week, or even say that they cannot be published.”

Reddy also proposes imposing penalties on social networks that publish malicious content, even after it has been rejected by the system. “Social networks should be held accountable for any malicious content they publish,” he says. While he acknowledges that global regulation of the problem is challenging, he believes it is achievable.

“We already have agreements globally, such as the nuclear arms control treaty or nuclear testing. It is possible to make an agreement on AI, but with a lot of effort and negotiations.”

Vision for the future: Technology in the service of community

For Reddy, technology should be a tool for the betterment of society, not just a means of profit. His vision includes the creation of an AI system that will serve the community, from health prevention and education to the regulation of online space. He calls for a joint effort – scientists, companies and society – to direct technology towards the common good.

While challenges remain, from privacy protection to the affordability of smart devices, Reddy believes that with the right approach, a world where AI and big databases benefit everyone, not just a select few, is possible. “Artificial intelligence technologies should be aimed at making illiterate people literate. We must have a dialogue with the system,” he concludes.

He believes that technological advances in the field of artificial intelligence will eventually allow anyone to watch any movie, read any textbook, and talk to anyone, regardless of the language of the manufacturer or user.

Reddy’s message is clear: the future of AI depends on transparency, inclusiveness and accountability. Only with such an approach can we ensure that technology serves all people, regardless of their economic, linguistic or social circumstances.