At the end of 2019, a sudden global pandemic disrupted the lives of many people and countries. The epidemic claimed the lives of over sixty million people. Over the past decade, technological development has given us incomputable convenience and benefits in our lives. This pandemic also highlights how the advancement of technology could contributed to our ability to combat COVID-19. Although bringing many benefits, technology’s rapid development has also sparked controversies and debates. People question whether they are willing to sacrifice their privacy for the convenience of society and the country.

The artificial intelligence (AI) system is one of the most significant technological advancements in the past decade. Combined with a novel medical technology named mNGS, AI can help scientists quickly identify relevant information on a virus from vast possibilities. 

mNGS, a sequencing method of DNA and/or RNA extracted directly from clinical samples, enables the detection of multiple pathogens simultaneously. Unlike the traditional PCR inspection method, mNGS covers additional regions of the genome of novel coronaviruses, making it highly effective in identifying viruses.

China, thanks to rapid advancements in mNGS technology, was able to obtain crucial information about the COVID-19 virus in a short period, therefore slowing down the virus from exponentially spreading. By analysing the RNA nucleic acids in the samples through mNGS testing and evolutionary analysis, Chinese scientists were able to identify that two patients in Wuhan were infected with the same virus. This rapid identification of a novel coronavirus saved time for further confirmation, prevention, and control of the outbreak, offering directions for subsequent clinical diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Another emerging technology introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic is the Internet of Things (IoT), which allows objects to sense the external world, process and interpret real-time data, and communicate and exchange information with each other. In the medical field, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has played a significant role in surveillance of COVID-19 infections, thus reducing the spread of the disease.  

For example, Kinsa has developed a smart thermometer that can test whether a patient is in fever without having direct contact with the patient. The thermometer has a face scanner with a built-in camera that can scan a visitor's face, and a thermal scan that can detect a visitor's fever. This invention has been widely used in hospitals and public places, effectively reducing the healthcare workers’ risk of infection. In 2021, a three-layer IoT infrastructure for remote health monitoring systems was proposed, consisting of a wearable IoT layer to sense parameters such as temperature, oxygen saturation, and heart rate of COVID-19 patients; a cloud layer to receive and store patient records; and a front-end layer to analyse patient records and send alerts to authorities. This infrastructure provides convenience for patients who are unable to leave their homes during the pandemic.

Moreover, different countries worldwide are also developing more sophisticated apps through 5G networks that incorporate big data to analyze the pandemic, and therefore control the spread of the virus. For instance, the city of Nuremberg designed an app that provides virus information in seven different languages, accessible to both refugees and migrants due to 5G's high speed and wide range. Also, Chinese government introduced the "Health Code" app, combining the 5G internet and big data. Citizens who have a continuous record of nucleic acid (NAT results) will receive a the green QR code. When entering public places, citizens need to scan the "place code" and show the green code to workers. Relying on big data and 5G internet, this app tracks individuals based on the scanned place codes and notifies them via text message if they have been in the same location as someone who tested positive.  

While the benefits of health codes and apps worldwide are notable and bring convenience to countries, they also raise concerns about the threat to people's privacy.  

To gain more comprehensive information about a patient or people, big data needs to access everything in the electronic device. In the healthcare context, big data can not only all the patient's medical history and visits but even the patient's real-time location, walking pathways, people they are meeting, and search records... Does technology pose a threat to people's privacy? Are people willing to sacrifice their privacy? After collecting big data, what should governments do to protect people’s personal information, especially when it comes to confidential medical and personal records. As we all know, individuals are vulnerable facing surveillance governments.

Governments might use big data to supervise and coerce dissidents.  

Even if the authority strictly uses people’s data to combat the pandemic, problem still exists that big data faces potential cybersecurity threats, as private information can be hacked or leaked. An article published in “Wired” commented as follows:

“Governments and companies have cited the anonymization of personal data as a key privacy safeguard, but multiple studies show that this may only delay rather than prevent the person’s re-identification. Location data, since it can be combined with public and private records to create an intricate and revealing map of a person’s movements, associations, and activities.” 

So even if the government anonymizes all the information, the risk of information leakage remains. Once this private information is compromised, the damage caused is irretrievable.

To address these issues, apps containing people’s personal information must be regulated by laws, and information defence systems must be strengthened. 

In conclusion, the rapid development of science and technology has played a vital role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific instruments have enabled quick virus discovery, while the development of "big data" software has helped control the virus in a short period. However, technological advancements do not come without drawbacks. The threat to human privacy caused by big data and the potential for information leakage are significant concerns. To overcome these challenges, proper regulation and strengthened information defense systems are necessary. It is essential to recognize that technology's advancement in the medical field is accompanied by both benefits and controversies.