Disappearing Unicorns and the Black Swans of 2020

In this time of heightened uncertainty, there is a decisive need for systems that facilitate Privacy, Logistics, Accessibility, and Networks that are resilient. The systems that we have become comfortable depending on are not nearly as reliable or benign as many would like to imagine. This is becoming more evident by the day, as the impact of not having adequate information on corona virus / COVID-19 spread induces reactivity that has led to deep speculation, supply chain interruptions, event cancellations, an unfurling of surveillance systems, and even population lockdown.

The Economist – To curb covid-19, China is using its high-tech surveillance tools
VOX – China’s cases of Covid-19 are finally declining. A WHO expert explains why.
WHO-China Joint Mission – Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Mapping COVID-19

While the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering is maintaining a novel mapping interface that appears to provide up to date information on virus spread, please keep in mind that the situation is rapidly developing. Any claims, numbers, and predictions also come with significant knowledge gaps due to the slow onset of symptoms, early likelihood of transferability, and low fidelity of information on confirmed cases. To achieve the kind of fidelity that would allow realtime accuracy in reporting would decidedly require a surveillance system even more sophisticated than the one China has been implementing.

Johns Hopkins CSSE – A Spatial Interface for Tracking COVID-19 Spread

TOKYO, JAPAN – FEBRUARY 28: A pedestrian wearing a face mask walks past an electronic board displaying the closing figure of the Nikkei Stock Average on February 28, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The Nikkei 225 dropped 3.67% on Friday as a growing number of events and sporting fixtures are being cancelled or postponed around Japan while some businesses are closing or asking their employees or work from home. Prime Minister Abe has also asked schools to close for around a month as Covid-19 cases continue to increase and concerns mount over the possibility that the outbreak will force the postponement or even cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)
Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

Solutions

All the free-for-now services can disappear overnight. When the $$ dries up, and the unicorns fly away, what will be left are the networks that can be supported on their own terms. This means having infrastructure and interoperable systems to communicate and collaborate at the local level is paramount.

Hopefully it’s becoming apparent that mechanisms of secure realtime communication and spatial collaboration are going to be so very critical, as social and economic systems buckle under the stress of supply chain impacts, systemic economic downturn (when it can no longer be avoided), disinformation, cyber warfare, and increasing isolation of groups of people.

PLAN Prototype Space Built in Unity – “Unicorn” by Christian Rambow

PLAN Systems is a 501(c)(3) with a dedicated team of software engineers, distributed systems developers, multi-media designers, and problem solvers. What we’ve learned from decades of on the ground experience (in areas from Force Protection, Nuclear Subs, CSAR, to Systems Sciences) is that everyone needs tools to communicate, solve problems at light speed, and securely store data … in times of plenty and in times of economic drought. That’s why, as a non-profit, we’re focused on developing software for distributed & realtime collaboration. More-so, because we think this is the most likely path towards longer term social and economic resiliency; enabling self-organization at the local level with fewer dependencies.

Our development focus areas are privacy, accessibility, education, science, and support to non-technical and low income populations. We are also motivated to help first responders and other non-profits organize and make decisions more effectively. We believe it’s necessary to design fundamentally better systems that make the poorly implemented ones obsolete, while lowering barriers to entry to human collaboration.

If you have the skills, time, or resources you can donate to this effort, we would love to have your involvement with providing solutions to communities in need. If you are in need of technology solutions, or consultation for your charitable effort, connect with us to see if we can help.