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Zzapp Malaria, an Israel-based (for-profit) startup recently won the grand prize of the $5M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE.
I want to see if we at EA Israel could help them in any way, such as recruiting, but first I'd be interested to know more about their intervention and how cost-effective that seems. (Cost-effective from the point of view of the government, I guess, although I'm not sure how they operate or what's exactly the relevant framework for this kind of for-profit work). Does anyone here have strong opinions about their potential impact?
From their website:
Zzapp’s software solves the operational difficulties involved in targeting stagnant water bodies for mosquito control. By analyzing satellite images and topographical maps, Zzapp’s AI identifies malaria transmission hotspots — areas where water bodies and human populations coincide.
Depending on the resources available, the system prioritizes areas to generate the most impact on disease transmission. To optimize the timing of interventions, Zzapp uses a weather analysis algorithm developed especially for Zzapp by the IBM Data Science and AI Elite team.
Strategies are communicated to field workers using a designated map-based mobile app. The app guides workers in the identification, reporting, and treatment of water bodies, streamlining the implementation. Data collected by field workers feeds back into the system for constant improvement of algorithms and recommendations.
