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(MENAFN- The Conversation)
When a new coronavirus emerged from nature in 2019, it changed the world. But COVID-19 won't be the last disease to jump across from the shrinking wild. Just this weekend, it was announced that Australia , is no longer an onlooker, as Canada, the US and European countries scramble to contain monkeypox, a less dangerous relative of the feared smallpox virus we were able to eradicate at great cost.
As we push nature to the fringes, we make the world less safe for both humans and animals. That's because environmental destruction forces animals carrying viruses closer to us, or us to them. And when an infectious disease like COVID does jump across , it can easily pose a global health threat given our deeply interconnected world, the ease of travel and our dense and growing cities .
We can no longer ignore that humans are part of the environment, not separate to it. Our health is inextricably linked to the health of animals and the environment . This will not be the last pandemic.
To be better prepared for the next spillover of viruses from animals, we must focus on the connections between human, environmental and animal health. This is known as the One Health approach , endorsed by the World Health Organization and many others.
We believe artificial intelligence can help us better understand this web of connection, and teach us how to keep life in balance.
We have pushed nature back to the fringes in many parts of the world. Shutterstocik How can AI help us ward off new pandemics?
Fully 60% of all infectious diseases affecting humans are zoonoses, meaning they came from animals. That includes the lethal Ebola virus , which came from primates, swine flu , from pigs, and the novel coronavirus, most likely from bats . It's also possible for humans to give animals our diseases, with recent research suggesting transmission of COVID-19 from humans to cats as well as deer .
Early warning of new zoonoses is vital, if we are to be able to tackle viral spillover before it becomes a pandemic. Pandemics such as swine flu (influenza H1N1) and COVID-19 have shown us the enormous potential of AI-enabled prediction and disease surveillance. In the case of monkeypox, the virus has already been circulating in African countries, but has now made the leap internationally.
Read more: How to prevent mass extinction in the ocean using AI, robots and 3D printers
AI tools have real potential to help us tackle the next pandemic by keeping tabs on viruses and helping us keep nature intact. But for this to happen, we will have to widen AI outwards, away from the human-centredness of most AI tools, towards embracing the fullness of the environment we live in and share with other species.
We should do this while embedding our AI tools with principles of transparency, equity and protection of rights for all.