Can AI Predict Global Pandemics Like The Coronavirus?

AI is supposed to be the most powerful pattern detection and prediction technology in the world. It therefore begs the question: Can we use AI to predict future global pandemics far enough in advance to tamp them down or prevent them altogether? It's an enormously consequential question, because the answer is not only relevant to sounding the alarm on future pandemics; it also speaks to the potential of AI for businesses. The short answer is "yes-ish." "Yes" because AI, specifically machine learning (ML), analyzes historical data to find the key variables that are predictive of any event, such as a pandemic.