November 16, 2008 by Matt Thomas
Okay, this is a new one. We’ve had Google telling us they can they can help slow global warming, that they can get more people to vote, that they can aid space exploration, and now it would seem they can help halt the spread of disease. Once again, they actually have a point. New site Google Flu could indeed stop us getting ill.
Here’s how, Google have analysed millions of searches relating to the influenza virus that have been proved in tests to relate closely to use by actual carriers of the disease. This means that they can predict rising numbers of flu cases. Doctors, nurses etc. can then use this information to warn the public and plan in advance for the outbreak. You know when your Grandma claims to know what’s ‘going around,’ well Google actually do.
Like all great inventions it’s actually quite obvious when you think about it. The tell-tale searches aren’t surprising, it’s things like ‘chest congestion’ or ‘where to buy a thermometer.’
“We wanted to step back and see if we couldn’t model a real-world phenomenon using search query data,” said Google engineer, Jeremy Ginsberg. Early signs are that they can. All joking apart, this could be very useful – the influenza virus is not only a nuisance, for vulnerable members of society, it’s a killer too.
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