The Pandemic Response Challenge was launched last year by XPRIZE and Cognizant to harness the power of data and artificial intelligence to provide policy makers, health officials and business leaders with information and guidance to facilitate the implementation of public safety measures that help keep local economies open, while minimizing virus outbreaks as vaccines become more widely available. The VALENCIA IA4COVID19 team (Valencia, Spain) won the challenge followed by the JSI vs COVID team (Ljubljana, Slovenia).

XPRIZE and Cognizant announced the winners of the 500,000, however the judges chose to award the VALENCIA IA4COVID19 team first place for its exemplary proposals. In total, more than 100 teams from around the world initially participated in the competition.

The Pandemic Response Challenge required teams to build effective data-driven AI systems capable of accurately predicting COVID-19 transmission rates and prescribing response and mitigation measures that, based on testing under hypothetical scenarios, demonstrated the ability to minimize infection rates as well as negative economic impacts. The winning models will be presented to policymakers, business leaders and health officials from around the world as they consider strategies to safely reopen society and restore the global economy.

“We are absolutely thrilled to announce the winners of the Pandemic Response Challenge, and extremely grateful to Cognizant for their support throughout this competition,” said Amir Banifatemi, XPRIZE’s Director of Innovation and Growth.

“This month will mark one year since the COVID-19 outbreak began worldwide, and since then we have been looking at various ways that XPRIZE could help identify and accelerate potential solutions to COVID-19, as well as strategies to keep people safe while mitigating the risks for a return to normalcy.

Our hope now is to implement the methodology and technology identified via this Challenge into emergency response plans for local governments around the world, using artificial intelligence to better protect all people – from the most vulnerable people in our society to the most essential workers – from future pandemics. »

Brian Humphries, CEO of Cognizant said:

“We salute the ingenuity and dedication of the two winning Pandemic Response Challenge teams, VALENCIA IA4COVID19 and JSI vs COVID, and thank everyone who participated in this global competition. It’s amazing what can happen when you bring together creative minds in the fields of data science, computer programming, machine learning, and epidemiology.

Their AI-based, data-driven models will help policymakers and health officials safely revive economies and learn how to leverage these technologies to address future public health crises. »

The applicants’ AI models were evaluated by an independent panel of judges including academics, pandemic response specialists, AI experts and epidemiologists, among others. Both Grand Prize winning teams were able to create effective models and meet the judging criteria which included both quantitative measures and qualitative factors such as:

• Real-world capacity for action and use of the models;
• Inclusion and equity, to assess how well the models take into account particularly vulnerable groups;
• Collaborative contributions, by rewarding teams that have created open source models or provided data and models for the shared success of all;
• Innovation, by examining whether teams have been successful in finding innovative ways to expand the reach of the Challenge

The full judging criteria and Challenge guidelines are available on the XPRIZE website.

VALENCIA IA4COVID19 has been working with the Valencian government since March 2020 to leverage data science in the fight against COVID-19. In the end, the team’s winning model successfully predicted epidemiological trends through its use of AI and data science. JSI vs COVID worked to develop accurate predictors of COVID-19 infections using a combination of the SEIR epidemiological model and machine learning. Throughout the Challenge, the hope of both teams was to create more accurate models for predicting the evolution of COVID-19 that could be used in their respective countries and beyond.

In addition to the two Grand Prize winners, eight other teams received honorable mentions and will each receive $3,000 in AWS credits for cloud and computing services courtesy of AWS, a Challenge partner. These teams are:

• metis2020 (Los Angeles, California, USA)
• mvsm (Berlin, Germany)
• CoronaSurveys (Madrid, Spain)
• Nixtamal AI (Mexico City, Mexico)
• Shanvi (San Diego, California, USA)
• Kangaroos (Ultimo, Australia)
• ADVANCE4COVID (Rochester, New York, USA)
• Nebraska team (Omaha, Nebraska, USA)

All teams participating in the Pandemic Response Challenge used Cognizant’s fundamental research and Evolutionary AI™ modeling as their baseline, building their models using data compiled by the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (based at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford). First launched in November 2020, the Pandemic Response Challenge included two phases:

Phase 1, which concluded in January 2021: Participants analyzed local COVID-19 data, existing response strategies, and common containment policies to develop and test predictive models capable of anticipating global infection spikes.

Phase 2, which concluded in February 2021: Competitors developed a “prescriber” model capable of suggesting realistic response plans for reopening global economies while minimizing the number of COVID-19 cases and the cost of deploying response plans.
To facilitate the development of their proposed solutions, the teams were offered free cloud and computing services from AWS.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a large and unprecedented set of government and community responses. The Pandemic Response Challenge engaged the most advanced AI technology, and some of the most creative minds in data science, computer programming, machine learning, etc., to launch new strategies, effectively reopen societies and restart economies safely for all, further testing scenarios that could be applied in the future.

Looking ahead, XPRIZE and Cognizant, along with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) plan to expand these efforts beyond the scope of this competition to a public platform or ecosystem that encourages the mobilization of AI and data while enabling contributions from experts and thought leaders in the global public health community. Details about the public platform will be announced soon. Those interested in contributing to these efforts are encouraged to contact XPRIZE at pandemicresponse@xprize.org.

Translated from Pandemic Response Challenge : XPRIZE et Cognizant annoncent les lauréats du Grand Prix