Coronavirus crisis gives an opportunity for AI to shine

"In 35 years of practicing medicine, I've never seen anything like it." The words came from a friend who is an ER doctor who was talking with me over the phone. He's been treating COVID-19 patients and is now in quarantine himself after being exposed. He's treated pneumonia, colds, flu, and other conditions, but COVID-19 just doesn't act like any of these more common illnesses. It seems that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have important roles to play as physicians, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and others directly engaged in the coronavirus fight try to find rapid therapeutic and containment answers.