- Emerging technologies are being deployed all across Asia to help fight the coronavirus outbreak.
- China are using robots to disinfect hospitals and deliver medical supplies.
- In Singapore, government data has enabled detailed mapping of the outbreak and in South Korea, authorities are tracking potential carriers using a cell phone satellite technology.
- Questions have been raised as to how this innovative use of data may affect privacy.
Disinfecting
drones, Talking robots, Artificial intelligence that can scan thousands of
medical images in a flash
These
are just some of the technologies rolled out by Asian countries including
Singapore and China to contain the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more
than 6,500 people worldwide.
Technology
powered by artificial intelligence (AI) is helping track the outbreak, clean
hospitals, deliver supplies and develop vaccines, with Asian governments
encouraging universities and corporations to expedite innovations.
"Sometimes
the pace of innovation in emerging digital technologies can be held back by
infrastructure, financing, and bureaucratic constraints," said Jonathan
Tanner, a digital consultant at the Overseas Development Institute think tank.
"When
faced with a challenge like responding to the coronavirus outbreak, there are
strong incentives to overcome these constraints quickly and put new technology
to the test," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In
Singapore, where open government data has enabled detailed mapping of the
outbreak, robots are delivering meals and medication to patients. Some can also
talk.
In
China, where the virus emerged late last year, robots are disinfecting
hospitals, drones are delivering medical supplies and AI is being used to sort
scans to spot the infection.
While
in South Korea, authorities are tracking potential carriers using a cell phone
and satellite technology.
It
is not surprising that these countries have pressed new technologies into use
quickly, said Carolyn Bigg, a partner at law firm DLA Piper in Hong Kong who
focuses on technology.
"Countries
such as Singapore and China want to be leaders in big data and analytics. They
are showing how big data platforms can be mobilized quickly and transparently,
and be a force for good," she said.
"It
will lead to greater awareness of how big data can be used," she said.
More pragmatic:
The
coronavirus outbreak labeled a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO)
last week has led to city lockdowns, school closures, shutting of borders and
cancellation of sporting and cultural events.
But
countries have responded differently.
The
WHO said last month that data protection regulations had delayed delivery of
crucial information about the spread of the outbreak outside mainland China,
while praising the approaches of the governments of China and Singapore.
While
data protection laws in Europe are driven by the intrinsic right to privacy,
many Asian countries have "more pragmatic" legislation, even though
there are robust compliance frameworks to prevent abuse of data, Bigg said.
"Many
data protection laws around the world have provisions to allow governments to
bypass getting consent in certain circumstances, for say national security or
public health emergencies," she said.
In
Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), requires anyone seeking
to process someone's data to obtain their consent. Mass tracking of people's
movements and contacts using smartphone location data violates this.
Singapore's
Personal Data Protection Commission has relaxed its terms to allow the
collection, use and disclosure of personal data without the person's consent to
carry out contact tracing and other coronavirus response measures.
'Mass surveillance':
Yet
other Southeast Asian countries are using personal data without protecting
people's privacy, said Emilie Pradichit, head of human rights charity Manushya
Foundation in Bangkok.
Vietnam
is tracking locals and foreigners through mobile apps, while Thai immigration
authorities are using location data of those arriving in the country, which
amounts to "mass surveillance and a serious risk to privacy," she
said.
In
the absence of an independent data protection authority in many countries,
there is a risk that some of these measures will stay in place even after the
situation eases.
As
more new technologies are introduced at this time, the dilemma of greater
efficiency at the cost of reduced privacy will stay, and the coronavirus
outbreak may accelerate the need for decisions about "what is and isn't
acceptable," said Tanner.
"A
fundamental tension exists between the capacity of digital technologies to
harvest data for specific purposes and the risks the use or misuse of that data
can pose to individual liberty or security," he said.
"We
need governments to ensure citizens are able to play an active role in shaping
future policy frameworks that shape how we use AI, digital identity or facial
recognition systems so that they can be used with legitimacy."
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