On May 30, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, donated USDC $4 million to the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia. The objective behind this donation is to use UNSW’s open-source artificial intelligence platform to provide early pandemic warning signals.
Buterin’s cryptocurrency donation will help EPIWATCH develop further. Professor Raina MacIntyre created it as an open-source intelligence tool (OSINT). The technology searches millions of publicly available web items, such as breaking news headlines and social media platforms, for early warning signs of epidemics. It identifies variations in ‘normal’ health-related reports. This is significantly faster than waiting for results from doctors and laboratories. Health authorities can then formally examine the early concerns.
“Imagine if someone had spotted COVID-19 before it went throughout the world—that is our aim,” Prof. MacIntyre said. EPIWATCH does not rely on individuals to make reports because it uses AI and real-time open-source data. It is a great equaliser, capable of overcoming poor health systems and censorship.
Buterin said, “The earlier we can detect new epidemics as they emerge, the sooner we can begin creating cures or possibly halt them before they become widespread.”
Open data analysis is an ideal alternative to more intrusive means of monitoring, which are frequently available exclusively to governments and other high bidders but not to the general public. It allows researchers, including members of the public, to interact globally and can be more readily modified and scaled to identify future pandemics wherever they begin.
The Balvi Filantropic Fund grant is UNSW’s first cryptocurrency gift. It is also believed to be the largest cryptocurrency contribution ever made to an Australian higher education institution. Buterin is well-known for his charity initiatives. He donated to the India Crypto Relief Fund in order to strengthen COVID response in India. He has also advocated for Ukrainian relief, among other issues.
