IEEE Future Directions
Technology Policy & Ethics
IEEE Technology Policy & Ethics is a bi-monthly digital publication featuring timely technical, policy, ethical, social, governmental, but not political commentary, related to emerging technologies and advancements that are electrical and electronic in nature. Future Directions considers the reflection of technology through the lens of social implications a key tenant as IEEE works to incubate and promote technologies.
This publication is actively promoted across IEEE Future Directions Initiatives. Readers of this newsletter include IEEE top to middle-level leadership, policy and technology experts, academicians, scholars, and students.
Technology Policy & Ethics: COVID Issue 2
September 2021
Detecting False rRT-PCR COVID-19 Test Reports Using Deep Learning Algorithms
By Muhammad Naveed Younis, Department of Computer Science, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan, Ali Raza, Department of Computer Science, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxilla, Pakistan, Syed Hashim Raza Bukhari, SMIEEE, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, CUI, Attock Campus, Pakistan
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a disease that has shattered the entire world [1]. Catastrophic impacts are being observed upon family and social life, education, global supply chain, health care facilities, and the economy [2]. Most importantly, it has infected millions of people and wasted many precious lives, and these numbers are increasing exponentially.
To reduce the spread and save lives, people need an accurate and speedy method to diagnose the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a real-time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) test [3]. In addition to the capabilities to produce rapid results for detecting the coronavirus, rRT-PCR tests can generate false reports. To overcome this flaw, we proposed a Deep Learning (DL)-based False Report Detection Model. The proposed model takes the input of a suspect’s symptoms, as well as the rRT-PCR test results, and then classifies the test report either as false or accurate.
CARD Predictive Model: COVID-19 in India
By Sougata Mazumder, Debjit Majumder, Prasun Ghosal, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur
Predictive models play a vital role in tackling COVID-19, and the usage varies across industries. The dynamic nature of models allows for analysis of the current situation, and in turn, the development of forecasts and predictions for the near future. These models are essential tools for healthcare experts and government stakeholders making decisions based on data. The importance of predictive models increases exponentially for developing, low-middle income countries, such as India, that have a high population density and a high percentage of citizens living below the poverty line. For socio-economic stability, it is essential for COVID-19 management to leverage predictive models such as the Confirmed-Active-Recovered-Death (CARD) model. In this article, we will discuss models holistically, with a special focus on the CARD Model, which presents time-varying equations to help predict the ongoing situation, regarding coronavirus, using tools like regression, curve fitting, etc.
Digital Transformation and Cybersecurity in the Context of COVID-19 Proliferation
By Yassine Maleh, IEEE Senior member, University Sultan Moulay Slimane, Beni Mellal, Morocco
The coronavirus pandemic has given a powerful impetus to the mass adoption of digital technologies, which will bring unprecedented changes in the social and economic fabric of our society. More than ever, the digitalization of companies is accelerating. This is reflected in the massive dematerialization of information systems towards the cloud, the explosion of the Internet of Things, and the accumulation of data from users in Big Data. The ongoing measures of social exclusion in most countries of the world have forced a large part of the world’s trade, in terms of goods and services, to go online. Soon, the world is likely to see further explosive growth in the capitalization of online service providers as commodity companies decline [1]. At the same time, these openings are opportunities for companies to deploy innovative and more efficient services.
Nevertheless, this transformation must be secured by more rigorous personal data protection to install digital trust among users [2], especially as cyber-attacks related to digital transformation are multiplying. It may be possible to focus only on technological elements following the still all-too-common belief that adding a new “trendy” security tool is enough to solve IT security problems. However, in reality, cybersecurity involves an intangible triptych: technology, process, and human factor [2].
The New Normal using Top-Notch Technologies: Artificial Intelligence & Quantum
By Ankita, Cherry Mangla, Shalli Rani (IEEE Senior Member), Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, Rajpura-140401, Punjab, India
A variety of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning (DL), Quantum Process (QP), Quantum Dots (QD) have been leveraged to help humans better understand the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. This virus, which was first reported in 2019 in Wuhan, China, has affected many countries. The increasingly rapid spread of this virus has had a huge impact on people physically, emotionally, and financially. Countries across the globe have faced huge problems resulting from COVID-19. Specifically, countries that have dense populations, such as India and China, have faced even more challenges resulting and worsened from the virus, such as hunger and unemployment, which has further threatened people’s lives. However, many countries are gradually progressing to enhance their healthcare industry by implementing all of the latest technologies in order to reduce the spread of the disease, and in hopes of developing a cure [1]. In this battle of life and death, science plays a major role.
Technology Policy and Ethics Editorial Board
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