AI runs smack up against a big data problem in COVID-19 diagnosis ZDNet

A chest X-ray, analyzed by Qure.ai's software, picks up on abnormalities that suggest the likelihood of COVID-19 infection. X-rays are one of the quickest, simplest ways to diagnose the disease, and an army of AI specialists around the world are trying to speed up how the images are used to find cases. Most cite the lack of data as the prime obstacle to broader adoption of AI. For all the frantic effort to coordinate life-saving work around the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital age finds itself hampered in one very specific respect: information. Teams of artificial intelligence researchers are trying to bring decades of technology to bear on the problem of diagnosing and treating the disease, but the data they need to develop their software programs is scattered around the globe, making it practically inaccessible. The painful lack of data is evident in one particular use case for AI, the development of diagnostic tests for COVID-19 based on X-rays or on "computed tomography" scans of the lungs.