Summary: NYU and FAS researchers have launched an interactive, evidence-based website that lets the public ask vetted professionals questions about COVID-19. Users can search a curated knowledge base or submit specific questions to a crowdsourced network of doctors and researchers; answers are currently provided within hours and are reviewed before being added to the public knowledge base. The service will also be available via Amazon Alexa.
Source: NYU
New York — Wednesday, March 18, 2020 — As false tips and misleading claims about the novel coronavirus circulate widely, clear, authoritative information is essential. To address this need, The Governance Lab (The GovLab) at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering partnered with the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and the New Jersey Office of Innovation to launch a free, interactive resource that connects the public with verified, science-led guidance on COVID-19.
Access the website here.
Available in English and Spanish, the “Ask a Scientist” platform provides evidence-based answers to common questions about the virus, its spread, prevention strategies, symptoms, and steps to take if you or a loved one becomes ill. Content is drawn from trusted institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other rigorously vetted sources to ensure accuracy and clarity.
If a user can’t find what they need in the knowledge base, they can submit a question directly through the site. Those inquiries go to a team of FAS researchers and a vetted, crowdsourced network of science and health experts coordinated by the National Science Policy Network. Every response is checked for accuracy and timeliness by the editorial team before it is published and added to the site’s searchable knowledge base for the benefit of other users.
The platform was designed to be fast and reliable. In its first six days online, “Ask a Scientist” attracted roughly 4,000 users per day. Answers to submitted questions are currently issued within hours, and the project team expects response times to shrink as the volunteer expert network grows. The initiative is also scaling technical infrastructure and expanding language coverage through crowdsourced translation efforts to support Portuguese, Farsi, Malagasy, and additional languages.
Professor Beth Simone Noveck, director of The GovLab and Chief Innovation Officer for the State of New Jersey, explains the approach: “We are mobilizing a global volunteer network of scientists, journalists, and other experts to provide rapid, accurate information that will help slow the spread of this disease and reduce its impact. The goal is to make reliable, actionable guidance easy to find and use.”
Organizations in both the public and private sectors are embedding the “Ask a Scientist” feature on their own websites to widen access to reliable information. In addition to web access, the platform will be available through voice assistants: users will soon be able to say, “Alexa, ask a scientist,” followed by a COVID-19 question to receive spoken guidance drawn from the verified knowledge base.
“Ask a Scientist” will be live on Amazon Alexa by the end of the week. Say “Alexa, Ask a Scientist,” followed by a COVID-19 question to access the service by voice.
Jelena Kovačević, dean of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, highlighted the project’s public service mission: “Since its inception, The GovLab has been dedicated to serving the public good. I have watched with pride and admiration as Professor Noveck and her team mobilized quickly to disseminate vital information. In these uncertain times, they are using science, data, and crowdsourcing to help communities make informed decisions.”
Source:
NYU
Media Contacts:
Karl Greenberg – NYU
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