# The COVID testbed and AI

DevFeed: [The COVID testbed and AI](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/the-covid-testbed-and-ai-36662.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://shostack.org/blog/ai-and-covid/>)

Author: Adam

Published: 2021-08-04T00:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Shostack & Friends Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/shostack-friends-blog.md>)

Topics: [Artificial Intelligence](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai.md>), [Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/machine-learning-artificial-intelligence.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data.md>), [Font](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/font.md>)

Tags: [ai](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai.md>), [covid](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/covid.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data.md>), [evaluation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/evaluation.md>), [machine-learning](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/machine-learning.md>)

## AI overview

This commentary examines failures in AI tools developed to detect COVID-19. It describes how models learned spurious signals, such as patient age, body position, and hospital text fonts, instead of clinically relevant indicators. The author argues that interdisciplinary collaboration and independent evaluation are necessary as such models influence more decisions.

## Source excerpt

The pandemic gives us a chance to evaluate AI tools...you'll be shocked to discover how they did.