China: Technology giants offer their country technical help

Among the Chinese companies making efforts to help the country respond to the coronavirus are the technology giants Alibaba, Baidu, ByteDance, Tencent, Xiaomi, and Foxconn. In order to fight misinformation, Baidu created a map layer on top of its standard Map App that shows real-time locations of confirmed and suspected cases of the virus so that people can avoid hot spots. Qihoo 360 has launched a platform travellers can use to check if anyone on their recent train or plane trips has since tested positive so that they can take appropriate self-quarantine measures or visit the hospital if symptoms appear. Tencent has launched Medipedia entries to provide expert-reviewed information, the myth-busting platform JiaoZhen, and a map of out-patient clinics to help people find their nearest one. Some efforts, such as the AI fever detection systems and thermal-imaging technology being deployed in railway stations, raise questions of long-term governance.

Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/coronavirus-chinese-companies-response/
 

Writer: Alan Chan and David Aikman
Publication: World Economic Forum