{"id":382581,"date":"2020-11-17T06:03:15","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T11:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/?p=382581"},"modified":"2020-11-17T06:03:15","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T11:03:15","slug":"xprize-and-cognizant-announce-pandemic-response-challenge-to-safely-reopen-societies-and-restart-economies-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/xprize-and-cognizant-announce-pandemic-response-challenge-to-safely-reopen-societies-and-restart-economies-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"XPRIZE and Cognizant Announce Pandemic Response Challenge to Safely Reopen Societies and Restart Economies Around the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

XPRIZE and Cognizant Announce Pandemic Response Challenge to Safely Reopen Societies and Restart Economies Around the World<\/b><\/p>\n

New $500K, four-month competition aims to accelerate use of artificial intelligence to minimize coronavirus infection cases while reducing the economic cost of lockdowns<\/i><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE<\/a>)–
\nAs COVID-19 rates continue to surge in countries around the world, XPRIZE<\/b><\/a>, the world\u2019s leader in designing and operating incentive competitions to solve humanity\u2019s grand challenges, in partnership with Cognizant<\/b><\/a> (Nasdaq: CTSH), one of the world’s leading technology and professional services companies, today launched the Pandemic Response Challenge. <\/b>The competition aims to harness the power of data and artificial intelligence in equipping policymakers, health officials, and business leaders with the insights and guidance necessary to implement public safety measures that maximize their ability to keep local economies open while minimizing potential virus breakouts.\n<\/p>\n

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20201117005292\/en\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Learn<\/p>\n

Learn more or sign up at xprize.org\/pandemicresponse (Graphic: Business Wire)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\nReports indicate that a COVID-19 vaccine may be on the horizon, making the speed at which populations are vaccinated a key variable in considering strategies for safely reopening society and restoring the global economy.\n<\/p>\n

\nBased on technology and AI models developed by Cognizant, and using data compiled by the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (based at Oxford University\u2019s Blavatnik School of Government), competing teams will build data-driven AI models that predict local COVID-19 transmission rates and prescribe intervention and mitigation measures that, with testing in \u201cwhat-if\u201d scenarios, are shown to minimize infection rates as well as negative economic impacts. Successful models may also serve as a roadmap for future crises.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThis challenge will inspire some of the world\u2019s brightest innovators to address the immediate threats to our economies and our livelihoods,\u201d said Amir Banifatemi, Chief Innovation and Growth Officer of XPRIZE. \u201cThrough global collaboration, the output of this challenge could be a game changer when it comes to using data and AI to create a route to recovery via a range of economic scenarios created by the competing teams. With vaccines on the horizon, these predictive and prescriptive models for opening society will continue to be valuable for the foreseeable future.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe road forward on reopening global economies will be paved by collaboration,\u201d said Brian Humphries, Chief Executive Officer of Cognizant. \u201cWe are pleased to partner with XPRIZE in drawing together a global, cross-disciplined ecosystem of innovators to put their AI expertise to work in helping us emerge from this pandemic. As these teams leverage Cognizant\u2019s foundational Evolutionary AI<\/a>\u2122 research, we look forward to the solutions they will contribute in helping decision-makers address COVID-19 and future humanitarian crises.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cCOVID-19 has highlighted the importance of AI\u2019s ability to predict impending outbreaks of disease and accurately diagnose symptoms,\u201d said Chaesub Lee, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. \u201cThe potential of AI to advance health has been a longstanding pillar of the AI for Good movement co-organized with XPRIZE. Responding to this critical issue, I am pleased to continue our valuable partnership and support the Pandemic Response Challenge.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Pandemic Response Challenge is the first competition to launch out of XPRIZE\u2019s AI and Data for Good Alliance<\/b>, a brain trust focused on enabling and cultivating actionable and tangible solutions to some of the world’s most immediate challenges through the use of data sciences, machine learning and AI.\n<\/p>\n

\nA total prize purse of $500K will be awarded at the conclusion of the challenge, which will close in February 2021. Unlike other XPRIZE competitions, the urgency to end the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects has led Cognizant and XPRIZE to drive an accelerated four-month timeframe for the Pandemic Response Challenge. Teams must register to join the competition by December 8, 2020. In Phase 1, teams will provide accurate predictions of COVID-19 transmission based on local data, unique intervention strategies, and mitigation policies and practices by December 22, 2020. In Phase 2, the top 50 teams will provide prescriptor models that will be evaluated against minimizing the number of cases and minimizing the stringency (i.e. cost) of the Intervention Plans (IPs). Phase 2 will conclude in February 2021. Throughout each phase, teams will be provided with cloud and compute services, courtesy of supporting partner, AWS, in order to facilitate development of their proposed solutions. To date, 102 teams from 23 countries have registered to participate.\n<\/p>\n

\nWith partners including Oxford University\u2019s Blavatnik School of Government, Intel, The International Telecom Union (ITU), the City of Los Angeles, The University of Texas at Austin, WorldQuant Predictive, Alpha Intelligence Capital, and AIQ, XPRIZE has recruited the following global experts to join the Pandemic Response Challenge Advisory Board:\n<\/p>\n