Lessons from COVIDSafe: Toward Public Interest Technologies of the Future
Title: Lessons from COVIDSafe: Toward Public Interest Technologies of the Future with a Focus on Asia
Presenters: Katina Michael, Roba Abbas
Abstract:
Over the past month, the $2 million dollar COVIDSafe App in Australia has come under great scrutiny. Many observers from across sectors have even gone so far as calling the App a “failure”, as it was made known that the App was not responsible for the identification of new cases of the coronavirus, and that on average those phones that were using the App, only had a one in four chance at exchanging unique identifiers with other handsets in their proximity. But what has been learnt from the rise and fall of this mobile government application based on Bluetooth that held so much promise? And what can Australia say about its choice of contact tracing app, and its centralized approach? This presentation contrasts COVIDSafe among other more successful location tracking and contact tracing apps in Asia. What is similar and what is different about these applications?
Citation: Katina Michael, Roba Abbas, 10 August 2020, “Lessons from COVIDSafe: Toward Public Interest Technologies of the Future”, International COVID-19 Congress, IEEE Bangladesh Section, Dhaka, Bangladesh, https://covid-19congress2020.com/