{"id":3921,"date":"2023-06-22T12:40:22","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T17:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=3921"},"modified":"2023-06-22T12:40:23","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T17:40:23","slug":"new-pentagon-google-partnership-suggests-ai-will-soon-be-used-to-diagnose-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=3921","title":{"rendered":"New Pentagon-Google Partnership Suggests AI Will Soon Be Used to Diagnose Covid-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Google recently teamed up with the Pentagon as part of the new, AI-driven \u201cPredictive Health\u201d program. Though only focused on \u201cpredictive cancer diagnoses\u201d for now, Google and the military have apparent plans to expand the AI model for automating and predicting Covid-19 diagnoses.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20370%20247'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-99-1024x530.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-image-3922\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"530\" src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-99-1024x530.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3922\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-99-1024x530.png 1024w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-99-300x155.png 300w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-99-770x398.png 770w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-99-293x152.png 293w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-99-390x202.png 390w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-99.png 1160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>At the beginning of September, Google Cloud&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.google.com\/press-releases\/2020\/0520\/defense-innovation-unit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a>&nbsp;that it had won a project from the Pentagon\u2019s relatively new&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.diu.mil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Defense Innovation Unit<\/a>&nbsp;(DIU) to \u201cprototype an AI-enabled digital pathology solution at select DoD [Department of Defense] facilities.\u201d This prototype, per&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.google.com\/press-releases\/2020\/0902\/predictivehealthdiu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a Google Cloud press release<\/a>, combines \u201caugmented reality telescopes\u201d with \u201cAI-enabled\u201d cancer detection tools that will allegedly improve the accuracy of \u201cpredictive cancer diagnoses.\u201d It is the second DIU contract Google&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.google\/products\/google-nest\/mount-sinai-health-care-workers-team-google-nest\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has won<\/a>&nbsp;this year, with the first being related to combatting \u201ccyber threats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The initial implementation of this Pentagon-funded, Google-created \u201cdigital pathology solution\u201d will take place \u201cat select Defense Health Agency (DHA) treatment facilities and Veterans Affairs hospitals in the United States,\u201d and the program includes \u201cfuture plans to expand across the broader U.S. Military Health System,\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.google.com\/press-releases\/2020\/0902\/predictivehealthdiu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to Google<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The initiative is part of a larger DIU-led program called \u201cPredictive Health\u201d that is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/Explore\/News\/Article\/Article\/2322947\/defense-innovation-unit-teaching-artificial-intelligence-to-detect-cancer\/source\/GovDelivery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">also partnered with<\/a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/insidedefense.com\/inside-army\/pentagon-establish-joint-artificial-intelligence-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">joint AI effort<\/a>&nbsp;of the US military and US intelligence community, the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, and JAIC\u2019s \u201cWarfighter Health\u201d initiative. The JAIC, which is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ai.mil\/bio_mulchandani.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">currently led<\/a>&nbsp;by a former Silicon Valley executive, is providing much of the funding for Predictive Health, while&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/Explore\/News\/Article\/Article\/2322947\/defense-innovation-unit-teaching-artificial-intelligence-to-detect-cancer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">its related \u201cWarfighter Health\u201d initiative<\/a>&nbsp;more broadly seeks \u201cto field AI solutions that are aimed at transforming military health care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to its stated goal of improving the accuracy of cancer diagnoses, the implementation of this Google-DIU AI-driven medical diagnosis tool aims to show \u201cfrontline health practitioners\u201d that such tools \u201ccan improve the lives\u201d of US troops, according to Google executives. As Mike Daniels, vice president of Global Public Sector at Google Cloud, noted in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.google.com\/press-releases\/2020\/0902\/predictivehealthdiu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a statement<\/a>, Google is \u201cpartnering with DIU to provide our machine learning and artificial intelligence technology to help frontline healthcare practitioners learn about capabilities that can improve the lives of our military men and women and their families.\u201d Google also stated that the use of their tool at military health facilities would also \u201clower overall healthcare costs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Google-DIU effort to outsource human doctor decision-making to a tailor-made artificial intelligence algorithm is, for now, only focused on the diagnosis of cancers. However, last Thursday, less than two weeks after winning the DIU contract, Google announced that it was&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.beckershospitalreview.com\/healthcare-information-technology\/google-donates-8-5m-to-31-organizations-for-covid-19-ai-data-analytics-efforts.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">donating $8.5 million<\/a>&nbsp;to several organizations to advance the development and use of AI&nbsp; \u201cfor monitoring and forecasting\u201d Covid-19. That money is part of a larger $100 million donation from Google for financing \u201csolutions\u201d to Covid-19 that was announced in May.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Further evidence that Google soon plans to offer AI-driven \u201cpredictive diagnoses\u201d for Covid-19 came in August, when Google Cloud&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.google.com\/blog\/products\/ai-machine-learning\/google-cloud-is-releasing-the-covid-19-public-forecasts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">partnered with<\/a>&nbsp;Harvard\u2019s Global Health Institute to provide \u201cCovid-19 Public Forecasts,\u201d which \u201cprovide a projection of Covid-19 cases, deaths, and other metrics over the next 14 days for US counties and states.\u201d The announcement of the Google-Harvard collaboration coincided with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nih.gov\/news-events\/news-releases\/nih-harnesses-ai-covid-19-diagnosis-treatment-monitoring\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an announcement<\/a>&nbsp;from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would begin \u201charness[ing] AI for COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably, other tech companies that have produced \u201cpredictive diagnosis\u201d AI models for Covid-19 also began first by offering AI-created \u201cforecasts\u201d of \u201clikely\u201d Covid-19 outbreaks. For instance,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelastamericanvagabond.com\/meet-israeli-intelligence-linked-firm-using-ai-profile-americans-guide-us-lockdown-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Israeli intelligence\u2013linked Diagnostic Robotics<\/a>&nbsp;initially offered AI-driven predictive \u201cforecasts\u201d of cities and districts to guide lockdown policy in Israel and the US state of Rhode Island before then teaming up with the US-based company Salesforce to develop a platform that uses AI to \u201cpredict\u201d which individuals are likely to be diagnosed with Covid-19 and then uses AI to monitor and even \u201ctreat\u201d those individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, in partnership with researchers at Mount Sinai healthcare centers in New York, tech giant Microsoft has already aided the development of an AI algorithm that \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthcareitnews.com\/news\/researchers-mount-sinai-use-ai-detect-covid-19-lung-scans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rapidly diagnoses<\/a>\u201d Covid-19. Mount Sinai\u2019s AI model, supported by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.clinicalomics.com\/topics\/informatics-topic\/bioinformatics\/microsoft-ai-grant-helps-mount-sinai-establish-covid-19-data-science-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a recent grant<\/a>&nbsp;from Microsoft\u2019s \u201cAI for Health\u201d initiative, \u201cwas as accurate as an experienced radiologist in diagnosing the disease,\u201d according to one of the lead researchers behind the model\u2019s development. While its development was aided by Microsoft, the core of the Mount Sinai AI model is TensorFlow, which was developed by Google and is Google AI\u2019s second-generation system for machine learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, both&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/imagingcovid19ai.eu\/#the-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google and Microsoft<\/a>&nbsp;are part of a Europe-based effort aimed at \u201cautomating diagnoses\u201d for Covid-19 via an AI algorithm that analyzes CT scans, which is similar in several ways to the Mount Sinai AI model. Thus, it seems highly likely that Google\u2019s efforts to offer AI-powered \u201cpredictive diagnoses\u201d will soon expand to include tools that use algorithms to diagnose Covid-19, not just cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-merging-of-the-pentagon-the-cia-and-silicon-valley\">The Merging of the Pentagon, the CIA, and Silicon Valley<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Established in 2015, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.diu.mil\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Defense Innovation Unit<\/a>&nbsp;of the Department of Defense officially exists to transfer \u201cleading-edge commercial capabilities to the military faster and more cost-effectively than traditional defense acquisition methods\u201d and to accelerate \u201cthe adoption of commercial technology throughout the military and [grow] the national security innovation base.\u201d As the DIU makes clear on its website, the \u201cnational security innovation base\u201d it seeks to \u201cgrow\u201d consists of private tech companies, namely those based in Silicon Valley, that provide \u201cadvanced commercial solutions\u201d to \u201cnational security challenges.\u201d This, of course, includes the tech companies that already double as contractors for the national security state, such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, among numerous others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The DIU boasts offices in Silicon Valley, Boston, Austin, and at the Pentagon itself and is largely led, not by career military men, but by former Silicon Valley executives. For instance, its current director\u2014Michael Brown\u2014is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/Our-Story\/Biographies\/Biography\/Article\/1807001\/michael-brown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the former CEO<\/a>&nbsp;of cybersecurity giant Symantec and, prior to that, led the Quantum corporation. In another example, the leader of the DIU\u2019s artificial intelligence portfolio is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.diu.mil\/team\/Jeff-Klugman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jeff Klugman<\/a>, a former top executive at TiVo, the Quantum corporation, and Hewlett-Packard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A year after the DIU was created, it was followed by the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/innovation.defense.gov\/About1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Defense Innovation Board<\/a>&nbsp;(DIB), which is composed of \u201cleaders from across the national security innovation base\u201d and provides recommendations that \u201chave been used to inform DoD leadership strategy and action, as well as congressional legislation.\u201d Like the DIU, Silicon Valley is well represented on the DIB, as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/innovation.defense.gov\/Members.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">its members include<\/a>&nbsp;former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman as well as top executives from Google, Microsoft, and Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably, just months before the DIU-led Predictive Health program was launched, the DIB&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/innovation.defense.gov\/Portals\/63\/documents\/Meeting%2520Documents\/March%25205,%25202020\/DIB_JPC_Recommendations_Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted in March 2020<\/a>&nbsp;that the Pentagon \u201cowns the largest repository of disease- and cancer-related medical data in the world,\u201d asserting further that \u201cif the entire repository were leveraged to its fullest potential, it would advance diagnosis and treatment for thousands of illnesses, saving lives across DoD and the global population.\u201d The DIB then specifically suggested that \u201cartificial intelligence and machine learning models may help pathologists sort through this massive dataset more quickly and effectively to provide better care for patients in and out of the military,\u201d adding that these troves of medical data should be used \u201cto support DoD reform and modernization efforts in the field of AI\/ML [Artificial Intelligence \/ Machine Learning].\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, the Silicon Valley\u2013dominated DIB called for what is now the Predictive Health program just months before the Silicon Valley\u2013dominated DIU formally announced it. Also noteworthy is that Google\u2014whose former CEO, current vice president, and several other Google-tied researchers and businessmen serve on the DIB\u2014is the very company that won the DIU contract to have its AI models serve as the foundation for the Predictive Health program. This, of course, means that Google\u2019s AI models will benefit immensely from the Pentagon\u2019s \u201cunique\u201d and massive medical datasets, which the DIB&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2019\/Oct\/31\/2002204191\/-1\/-1\/0\/CAMPAIGN_FOR_AN_AI_READY_FORCE.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously stated<\/a>&nbsp;was something that the Pentagon \u201cmust treat . . . as a strategic asset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is also important to point out the considerable overlap between the Pentagon\u2019s Defense Innovation Board and the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. The NSCAI is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nscai.gov\/about\/commissioners\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">chaired by<\/a>&nbsp;Eric Schmidt (also on the DIB) and includes representatives from Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon as well as the current and former leaders of the CIA\u2019s In-Q-Tel.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The official purpose of the NSCAI is \u201cto consider the methods and means necessary to advance the development of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and associated technologies to comprehensively address the national security and defense needs of the United States.\u201d As I&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelastamericanvagabond.com\/techno-tyranny-how-us-national-security-state-using-coronavirus-fulfill-orwellian-vision\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously reported<\/a>&nbsp;for&nbsp;<em>The Last American Vagabond<\/em>, the vice-chair of NSCAI,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nscai.gov\/about\/commissioners\/work\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Robert Work<\/a>\u2014former Deputy Secretary of Defense and senior fellow at the hawkish&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnas.org\/people?group=board-of-directors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for a New American Security (CNAS)<\/a>\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/epic.org\/foia\/epic-v-ai-commission\/EPIC-19-09-11-NSCAI-FOIA-20200331-3rd-Production-pt1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described the commission\u2019s purpose<\/a>&nbsp;as determining \u201chow the U.S. national security apparatus should approach artificial intelligence, including&nbsp;<strong><em>a focus on how the government can work with industry to compete with China\u2019s \u2018civil-military fusion\u2019 concept<\/em>&nbsp;<\/strong>[my emphasis].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this reason, the NSCAI unites the US intelligence community and the military, which is already collaborating on AI initiatives via the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and Silicon Valley companies. Notably, many of those Silicon Valley companies\u2014like Google, for instance\u2014are not only contractors to US intelligence, the military, or both but were&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/insurge-intelligence\/how-the-cia-made-google-e836451a959e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">initially created<\/a>&nbsp;with funding from the CIA\u2019s In-Q-Tel, which also has a considerable presence on the NSCAI. Thus, while the line between Silicon Valley and the US national-security state has always been murky, now that line is essentially nonexistent as entities like the NSCAI, DIB, and DIU, among several others, clearly show. Whereas China, as Robert Work noted, has the \u201ccivil-military fusion\u201d model at its disposal, the NSCAI and the US government respond to that model by further fusing the US technology industry with the national-security state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is also certainly interesting that, just like the DIB, the NSCAI called for what would become the DIU\u2019s Predictive Health program a few months before it was formally announced. In a NSCAI paper from June 2020 titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/153DUHToD4zoM_GXe9MWGNKzend7TsI2o\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Role of AI Technology in Pandemic Response and Preparedness: Recommended Investments and Initiatives<\/a>,\u201d the commission recommends investments and initiatives aimed at using AI for diagnosing illnesses, including Covid-19. This seems to suggest that the Silicon Valley\u2013led but Pentagon-housed DIU is the body that actually creates the government-industry partnerships and initiatives that are first planned out by the DIB and the NSCAI.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"its-all-about-the-data\"><strong>It\u2019s All About the Data<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While Google has stated that one of their main goals in participating in the Predictive Health program is showing health-care practitioners how AI can \u201cimprove lives,\u201d the DIU was decidedly more direct regarding their intent in implementing this \u201cpredictive diagnosis\u201d program. For instance, an article on the Google-DIU pilot program at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defenseone.com\/technology\/2020\/09\/microscopes-powered-googles-ai-could-change-cancer-diagnostics\/168146\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>DefenseOne<\/em><\/a>, citing military officials, notes that the \u201cenormous amount of healthcare data, unique to the Department of Defense, also presents a rare opportunity for the Department to train new machine learning tools.\u201d It then adds that \u201cthere are 9.6 million beneficiaries in the Defense Health System, which means a lot of data to improve the accuracy of [AI] models.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DIU\u2019s chief medical officer, Niels Olsen, who created the Predictive Health program, recently stated that massive quantities of data planned to be obtained by the program and used for developing improved AI algorithms was a critical component of the project. In a Pentagon&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/Explore\/News\/Article\/Article\/2322947\/defense-innovation-unit-teaching-artificial-intelligence-to-detect-cancer\/source\/GovDelivery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press release<\/a>, Olsen stated that \u201cthe more data a tool has available to it, the more effective it is. That\u2019s kind of what makes DOD unique. We have a larger pool of information [i. e., medical data] to draw from, so that you can select more diverse cases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus, the implementation of the Predictive Health program is expected to amass troves upon troves of medical data that offer both the DIU and its partners in Silicon Valley the \u201crare opportunity\u201d for training new, improved AI models that can then be marketed commercially. This may explain part of the interest in partnering this initiative with the Defense Health Agency (DHA), which \u201cowns the largest repository of disease- and cancer-related medical data in the world\u201d through&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/innovation.defense.gov\/Portals\/63\/documents\/Meeting%2520Documents\/March%25205,%25202020\/DIB_JPC_Recommendations_Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">its management of the Joint Pathology Center<\/a>, which was noted by the DIB in its March 2020 publication. In addition, as previously mentioned, Google will now be able to access that trove of sensitive data to refine its AI \u201chealth-focused\u201d algorithms, thanks to it having won the DIU contract earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably, the relatively new Predictive Health program builds on past DIU initiatives, such as an AI algorithm that predicts illnesses \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextgov.com\/analytics-data\/2019\/10\/military-algorithm-can-predict-illness-48-hours-symptoms-show\/160851\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">48 hours before symptoms show<\/a>.\u201d That algorithm was developed by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the DIU, and the health IT company Royal Phillips. The Phillips team that developed that algorithm is now \u201crefin[ing] the model at military hospitals and clinics managed by the Veterans Affairs Department.\u201d According to the DTRA\u2019s Edward Argenta, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextgov.com\/analytics-data\/2019\/10\/military-algorithm-can-predict-illness-48-hours-symptoms-show\/160851\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">focus of the program<\/a>&nbsp;is to eventually use the AI algorithm to analyze data from devices that remotely monitor individual health, specifically \u201ca wearable device that might sit on your body\u2014like a watch-based one or a chest strap one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While various \u201cinnovation-focused\u201d agencies at the Pentagon have been busy developing their own algorithms after harvesting mass amounts of medical data from military members and their families, a web of intelligence-linked tech companies, including those represented on the DIB and NSCAI, have gained access to the jackpot of medical data through partnering with the \u201cCovid-19 Healthcare Coalition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/c19hcc.org\/impact-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">its website<\/a>, the Covid-19 Healthcare Coalition was established as \u201ca coordinated public-interest, private-sector response to the Covid-19 pandemic, convening healthcare organizations, technology firms, nonprofits, academia, and startups.\u201d The coalition, which was launched by the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/thomasbrewster\/2020\/07\/13\/inside-americas-secretive-2-billion-research-hub-collecting-fingerprints-from-facebook-hacking-smartwatches-and-fighting-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">intelligence and defense contractor MITRE<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/c19hcc.org\/impact-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">also includes<\/a>&nbsp;tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Palantir, Salesforce, and Amazon and allows its member organizations to \u201ccollaborate, collect, analyze, visualize, and share data and insights.\u201d With access to the data from partnered health-care institutions, such as the Mayo Clinic and the Cedars-Sinai Health System, these tech companies are \u201chelping\u201d the coalition \u201cunlock large-scale analytics for Covid-19.\u201d Institutions tied to the US government, and the NSCAI in particular, such as the CIA\u2019s In-Q-Tel, are also members of the Covid-19 Healthcare Coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably, the recent advances in US-based efforts to \u201cpredict\u201d or \u201cautomate\u201d Covid-19 diagnoses are all tied to this very coalition. Indeed, all of the companies and institutions mentioned thus far in this report have engaged in developing these tools, as Diagnostic Robotics, Salesforce, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Mount Sinai Medical Center are all coalition members.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Google, in the press release regarding its recent partnership with the DIU, noted that the prototype of the AI model set to make \u201cpredictive cancer diagnoses\u201d had been \u201cdeveloped from [unspecified] public and private datasets,\u201d making it possible\u2014if not likely\u2014that the private datasets were obtained through Google\u2019s membership in this massive, yet relatively unknown, coalition of health-care institutions, tech companies, and US intelligence\u2013linked entities like MITRE and In-Q-Tel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This apparent obsession with medical data may explain the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unlimitedhangout.com\/2020\/08\/investigative-reports\/meet-the-idf-linked-cybersecurity-group-protecting-us-hospitals-pro-bono\/\">dramatic uptick in hacks of hospitals<\/a>&nbsp;in the United States, which have been considerable in recent months and have largely targeted patient data. It is worth pointing out that the increase in these attacks seeking patient data coincides with the DIB-NSCAI policy recommendations regarding training AI algorithms on troves of medical data for automated and predictive diagnoses, among other applications.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably, the \u201csolutions\u201d offered to many of the health-care institutions that have been hacked have come from government-promoted yet opaque groups that are deeply tied to US and allied intelligence agencies as well as Silicon Valley. These \u201cvolunteer groups,\u201d such as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/unlimitedhangout.com\/2020\/08\/investigative-reports\/meet-the-idf-linked-cybersecurity-group-protecting-us-hospitals-pro-bono\/\">the CTI League<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.c5capital.com\/cyber-alliance\/\" target=\"_blank\">the Cyber Alliance to Defend Our Healthcare<\/a>,\u201d offer their services for free but, notably, gain access to the patient data they are tasked with guarding. Are such groups, given their deep ties to Silicon Valley and intelligence agencies, helping acquire even more data to satisfy the Silicon Valley and national-security state\u2019s endless hunger for more and more data?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Original Article: <a href=\"https:\/\/unlimitedhangout.com\/2020\/09\/reports\/new-pentagon-google-partnership-suggests-ai-will-soon-be-used-to-diagnose-covid-19\/\">https:\/\/unlimitedhangout.com\/2020\/09\/reports\/new-pentagon-google-partnership-suggests-ai-will-soon-be-used-to-diagnose-covid-19\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/unlimitedhangout.com\/author\/whitney-webb\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Google recently teamed up with the Pentagon as part of the new, AI-driven \u201cPredictive Health\u201d program. Though only focused on \u201cpredictive cancer diagnoses\u201d for now, Google and the military have apparent plans to expand the AI model for automating and predicting Covid-19 diagnoses. At the beginning of September, Google Cloud&nbsp;announced&nbsp;that it had won a project from the Pentagon\u2019s relatively new&nbsp;Defense Innovation Unit&nbsp;(DIU) to \u201cprototype an AI-enabled digital pathology solution at select DoD [Department of Defense] facilities.\u201d This prototype, per&nbsp;a Google [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-covid"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3921"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3923,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921\/revisions\/3923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}