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How Your Local Election Clerk Is Fighting Global Disinformation

Matt Vasilogambros

July 20, 2020 |

Stateline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Many entities are working with social media companies to flag election-related disinformation. The California Secretary of State emails voters about how to report false information so the state can flag it and the Arizona Secretary of State verifies official accounts with social media companies. In the private sector, the startup VineSite uses artificial intelligence to identify and flag false information and the nonprofit Mitre has an app used by 160 election officials to report social media disinformation. Officials have a good relationship with social media companies, but there is room for improvement.

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How Facebook is using AI to boost blood donation

Faustine Ngila

June 25, 2020 |

Nation Africa |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kenya

A partnership between Facebook and the Ministry of Health in Kenya has helped connect blood banks with blood donors. The process uses artificial intelligence and geo-location data to notify Facebook users who have signed up as blood donors when blood banks in their area are in need of donations.

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How ‘Sustainable' Web Design Can Help Fight Climate Change

Clive Thompson

June 23, 2020 |

Wired |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Netherlands

As part of a growing movement in sustainable software design, Danny Van Kooten, a Dutch programmer, refactored the code on his website plug-in to reduce the amount of energy expended when someone interacts with it. About 2 million websites use his plug-in and by trimming the code, he estimates that he reduced the world’s monthly carbon dioxide output by 59,000 kilograms. While larger companies like video-streaming services put out more emissions, individual website owners can take steps to reduce their own CO2 footprint.

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How tech is tackling wildlife trafficking

Richard Kenny

June 23, 2020 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Cambodia

Three examples of new science behind successful efforts to prevent or punish the poaching of protected wildlife starts with PAWS: Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security, an artificial intelligence tool that helped officials in Cambodia predict where poachers would set snares. In an undisclosed location in East Africa, another form of AI powers a miniature trail camera that can detect human activity and alert rangers to rush in for arrests. And Kenya prosecuted four cases of pangolin trafficking by using a new method of lifting fingerprints from the poached animals' precious scales.

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Need a Quran teacher? There's an AI for that

Aysha Khan

May 20, 2020 |

Religion News Service |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

An AI app is potentially eliminating the need for Quran teachers by offering precise feedback to those who are learning to recite or memorize the holy book of Islam. Tarteel uses machine learning technology to enable speech recognition, allowing it to test users' knowledge of the Quran and to receive feedback on recitation without a teacher. The tool can identify mistakes and has a memorization mode, only revealing words as they are recited. Building such an accurate tool "requires a vast data set to train a deep neural network" so users who opt in are crowdsourcing the data set needed to power Tarteel.

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Volunteers create world's fastest supercomputer to combat coronavirus

Alex Hern

April 15, 2020 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

By allowing volunteers to take part in the scientific task of ‘folding proteins’ while they're abiding by lockdown protocols during the coronavirus pandemic, the "world’s fastest traditional supercomputer" has been achieved. The distributed effort which decentralizes who can take part in downloading and running the software necessary, holds potential for helping researchers better understand how the virus binds to a human cell.

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University of Washington computer game helps crowdsource possible coronavirus treatment

Michael Crowe

April 08, 2020 |

KING-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

At the University of Washington, researchers from the school's school of protein design created a computer game that allows users to fold proteins. This game, which is open to anyone, is being used to crowdsource possibilities that could be used to develop antiviral drugs that would work against the novel coronavirus.

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USC community uses 3D printing to combat medical equipment shortage during COVID-19 pandemic

Karen Wang, Olivia Novato, Alexander Song

April 01, 2020 |

USC Annenberg Media |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Hospitals throughout the United States are facing a shortage of personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, but communities are trying to help fill the gap. One solution being piloted at universities such as USC is the use of 3D printers to create 3D-printed masks as back-ups at healthcare facilities.

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STAT's guide to how hospitals are using AI to fight Covid-19

Casey Ross, Rebecca Robbins, Erin Brodwin

March 31, 2020 |

STAT |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

A variety of AI tools are being used by the healthcare industry to try to identify cases of coronavirus. Although it's not yet clear which will be most successful in doing so, tools such as automated chatboxes, algorithms to identify at-risk people, and the use of modeling and projections are all being piloted to help aid hospitals, clinicians, and patients.

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This ‘airlock' for restaurants ensures that picking up your takeout order is 100% contact free

Adele Peters

March 25, 2020 |

FastCompany |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

A restaurant in San Francisco has created a "pressurized transfer chamber" that allows to go orders to be picked up from customers without the risk of transmitting the highly contagious coronavirus or other germs. Although it requires a 3D printer in order to be created, the business has made the design available for other businesses to use.

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