Like other Americans, technologists are trying to do their part to support the front-line pandemic response. They are creating virus data sets, focusing computing resources on the search for vaccines, tracking the virus’s spread, improving the distribution of critical health care supplies and facilitating online educational tools—work for which my philanthropy, Schmidt Futures, is providing support. This effort reflects the entrepreneurial, results-driven ethos of today’s tech sector.
But every American should be asking where we want the nation to be when the Covid-19 pandemic is over. How could the emerging technologies being deployed in the current crisis propel us into a better future?
AFTER THE PANDEMIC
Leading figures from a range of fields look ahead to the lasting impact of today’s crisis
Consider big data and novel manufacturing. The government lacks a strong grasp of complex supply and distribution chains for life-critical medical equipment and other goods. Specialists in big data analytics should now turn to modeling these networks to develop real-time tracking and data visualization platforms to better inform policy decisions. The predictive maintenance and additive manufacturing that are gaining traction in the military should become more prominent in health care. Some hospitals are already using 3-D printers to fabricate respirator valves, and it’s saving lives. Companies like Amazon know how to supply and distribute efficiently. They will need to provide services and advice to government officials who lack the computing systems and expertise.
We should also accelerate the trend toward remote learning, which is being tested today as never before. Online, there is no requirement of proximity, which allows students to get instruction from the best teachers, no matter what school district they reside in. There are already useful online learning tools, but they need to be more equitably distributed. Struggling school districts, community colleges and career technical training institutes could benefit if network connectivity becomes more affordable and applications become accessible to a wider range of learners. Science and engineering labs will also be prompted to think of new ways to integrate young talent; there will be experiments in remote internships and apprenticeships.
The need for fast, large-scale experimentation will also accelerate the biotech revolution. Synthetic biology and AI-enabled computer modeling will help us to discover and test more new drugs. Companies and research centers are putting algorithms to work on large data sets to find correlations that would take human researchers years of painstaking laboratory work. As researchers show more results, government agencies like the FDA will face pressure to quicken the trial and vetting process for new drugs, and funding agencies will need to give researchers more flexibility to follow the discoveries wherever they lead.
Finally, the country is long overdue for a real digital infrastructure. Government at every level should move to cloud, mobile and web-based software and start treating data as a strategic asset. It’s now painfully obvious that these tools are essential for effective action. Moreover, the American people will need that infrastructure for their daily lives. If we are to build a future economy and education system based on tele-everything, we need a fully connected population and ultrafast infrastructure. The government must make a massive investment—perhaps as part of a stimulus package—to convert the nation’s digital infrastructure to cloud-based platforms and link them with a 5G network.
The American people are problem-solvers and innovators, and we have the opportunity today for farsighted action. If we invest strategically and mobilize our society, we can build the digital infrastructure necessary to enjoy a higher and healthier standard of living and to solve complex modern problems like today’s pandemic.
—Mr. Schmidt is the former CEO and executive chairman of Google.
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A Real Digital Infrastructure at Last - The Wall Street Journal
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