• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
AAAI

AAAI

Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence

    • AAAI

      AAAI

      Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence

  • About AAAIAbout AAAI
    • AAAI Officers and Committees
    • AAAI Staff
    • Bylaws of AAAI
    • AAAI Awards
      • Fellows Program
      • Classic Paper Award
      • Dissertation Award
      • Distinguished Service Award
      • Allen Newell Award
      • Outstanding Paper Award
      • Award for Artificial Intelligence for the Benefit of Humanity
      • Feigenbaum Prize
      • Patrick Henry Winston Outstanding Educator Award
      • Engelmore Award
      • AAAI ISEF Awards
      • Senior Member Status
      • Conference Awards
    • AAAI Resources
    • AAAI Mailing Lists
    • Past AAAI Presidential Addresses
    • Presidential Panel on Long-Term AI Futures
    • Past AAAI Policy Reports
      • A Report to ARPA on Twenty-First Century Intelligent Systems
      • The Role of Intelligent Systems in the National Information Infrastructure
    • AAAI Logos
    • News
  • aaai-icon_ethics-diversity-line-yellowEthics & Diversity
  • Conference talk bubbleConferences & Symposia
    • AAAI Conference
    • AIES AAAI/ACM
    • AIIDE
    • IAAI
    • ICWSM
    • HCOMP
    • Spring Symposia
    • Summer Symposia
    • Fall Symposia
    • Code of Conduct for Conferences and Events
  • PublicationsPublications
    • AAAI Press
    • AI Magazine
    • Conference Proceedings
    • AAAI Publication Policies & Guidelines
    • Request to Reproduce Copyrighted Materials
  • aaai-icon_ai-magazine-line-yellowAI Magazine
    • Issues and Articles
    • Author Guidelines
    • Editorial Focus
  • MembershipMembership
    • Member Login
    • Developing Country List
    • AAAI Chapter Program

  • Career CenterCareer Center
  • aaai-icon_ai-topics-line-yellowAITopics
  • aaai-icon_contact-line-yellowContact

Home / News / Bioterrorism Surveillance at the Olympic Games: Artificial Intelligence Early Warning System Just Installed

Bioterrorism Surveillance at the Olympic Games: Artificial Intelligence Early Warning System Just Installed

February 11, 2002

The U.S. has never seen security measures like those now in Salt Lake City for the Olympics. One little known measure, just put into place, gives early warning of a possible bioterrorist attack. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) computer system analyzes patient data from emergency rooms and instant care facilities across the state. If it detects a significant pattern, it pages the on-call state public health physician.

On February 5, while President Bush was visiting Pittsburgh, praised the demonstration he saw of the Realtime Outbreak and Disease Surveillance (RODS.) The RODS system was developed collaboratively between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. RODS has been in use in Western Pennsylvania since late 1999. In his speech following the demonstration, President Bush called RODS “innovative,” and an “incredibly useful tool for America … to protect ourselves … (from) insidious biological attack.”

Installing RODS in Utah

As Bush viewed the system in Pittsburgh, Per Gesteland, M.D., was working with a team in Utah to finish installing RODS in time for the Olympics. They were on a very tight timeframe. Gesteland learned of the system during a talk in November given by RODS creator Michael Wagner, M.D., Director of the Biomedical Security Institute and a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh.

In less than two months, Gesteland’s team was able to ready the system. It now covers 80% of the state, including the entire geographic area of the Olympics. It takes data from 80% of the health care systems in the region, including Intermountain Health Care, the official provider of health care for the Olympics.

AI for anti-terrorism

“The RODS system is a first step in a direction you’ll see a lot more of over the coming five years,” observes Tom Mitchell, Fredkin Professor of AI and Learning at Carnegie Mellon University, and President of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. “It’s pretty obvious that a lot can be done with AI machine learning and data mining algorithms if you take the trouble to link data sources together. September 11 is motivating us to take the trouble to link together the data to find general trends and anomalous events.”

#  #  #

AAAI Media Contact
(for press inquiries only)
Meredith Ellison
AAAI
1900 Embarcadero Road, Suite 101
Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA
aaai-exec-director@aaai.org

Categories: Press Release

Primary Sidebar

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT