How to Help Science and Tech Experts With the Coronavirus Response

All you need is a phone, smartwatch, or computer

Deborah Stine
Forge

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Photo: Mayur Kakade/Moment/Getty Images

TThere’s a certain paralysis many of us are feeling right now: We want to be helpful during this pandemic, but aren’t sure how to do so safely from our homes.

Fortunately, being stuck inside doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do. Forge recently shared some ways to support your community while social distancing — you can volunteer to call isolated seniors, or tutor students who are home during school closures, or sew masks for those who need them.

And you might want to look beyond your immediate community, too, to the science and tech experts working on vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus. Across the country and around the world, researchers are calling on the public to provide useful data. Here’s what you can do to help.

Lend your (literal) voice

Did you know that artificial intelligence (A.I.) may be able to detect whether or not you have Covid-19 just from the sound of your voice? That’s the proposition of the startup Voca.ai, which plans to use voice forensic technology that looks at voice patterns, tones, and other sounds to determine if someone has a unique illness. The company has teamed up with Carnegie Mellon…

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Deborah Stine
Forge
Writer for

Dr. Deborah D. Stine is Founder of the Science and Technology Policy Academy, an Independent study director and consultant, and co-editor of Forefront on Medium