Author: Jonny Hankins

Jonathan's Author Bio: Co Editor of the International Handbook on Responsible Innovation, and author of Responsible Innovation, A Narrative Approach, Jonny works for the Bassetti Foundation in Milan publishing articles on innovation and responsibility on their website and in academic and trade journals and also blogging about his interests. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Responsible Innovation and member of the the Virtual Institute of Responsible Innovation

Experiments in Culture: Opening up after COVID-19

2 Replies Jonny Hankins
A view from the COVID-19 Test Concert in Amsterdam, March 2021

A couple of weeks ago Christopher and myself traded comments on one of his posts about the UK’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and he touched upon the question of what the post pandemic world might look like.

Going Dutch

This led me to thinking about the Dutch government’s approach to preparing the country for opening up and new forms of lifestyle for the near future, that they say is based on decisions that are founded in scientific research. And they are conducting a series of experiments that I thought our readers might be interested in.  

In order to discover how COVID might spread if life went back to the good old days of conferences, concerts, football matches and festivals, the government is running a series of experimental events:

  • 20 February: Business conference with cabaret show (500 guests)
  • 21 February: Football match NEC-De Graafschap (1500 guests)
  • 28 February: Football match Almere City FC-Cambuur Leeuwarden (1500 guests)
  • 6   March: dance event in Ziggo Dome (1300 guests)
  • 7   March: concert in Ziggo Dome (1300 guests)
  • 13 March: dancefestival (outside) at Walibi Holland (1500 guests)
  • 14 March: popfestival (buiten) at Walibi Holland (1500 guests)

Tickets for the first football matches didn’t sell out, but the rest went like the proverbial hot-cakes. Guests have to have a COVID test before they are allowed in, submit to tests during the event (temperature etc) and have tests after the event. Positive tests result in no admittance.

Bubbles

Inside the venues the visitors are put into bubbles. The dance event (see the photo above) involved dividing the guests into 5 groups of 250 and one group of 50. Each had its own entrance and exit, and all the necessary facilities. Each bubble had its own rules, for example one group of 250 placed in the seated area had to remain seated, while another replica group was allowed to dance in their places. Other bubbles were on the dance floor. In one, guests were asked to keep 1.5 mtrs apart, in another each had their own dance space marked on the floor. Fluorescent Water was distributed (presumably so that guests could see if they had been sneezed on).

Guests were also asked to wear sensors so that their interactions with other guests could be monitored.

What did they investigate?

  • Behaviour (following the rules)
  • Triage, track and trace systems
  • Quick-test (15-minute result tests) as a strategy
  • Air quality
  • Movement dynamics
  • Personal rule effectiveness (1.5 mtr distance)
  • Surface hygiene
  • High risk groups

Those lucky enough to get a ticket heard Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Sam Feldt, Lucas & Steve and Lady Bee! 

The dance festival had to be cancelled due to high winds, but preparations are in full swing for the pop festival. There have only been a few words said about any results, but it appears that nobody became infected as a result of the first event, so maybe a model of this sort might be possible, everyone has a test before entering, then follows a protocol as yet to be defined.

As someone who had his honeymoon at Glastonbury Festival in the UK (and went to PinkPop last year), I very much hope and look forward to trying out the new approach, whatever that might be.

SIENNA final conference: 10 – 12 March

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The SIENNA Project is holding its final (online) conference on Ethics, Human Rights & Emerging Technologies.

Various project members and a host of professors from various fields will present and discuss results and proposals for the ethical management of new and emerging technologies. The conference has four parts that can be attended separately. The programme is now available for all sessions, and they are all individually free to attend!

Here is just a little taster, all times are CET:

10 March
14:00-17:00 Human Genetics and Genomics: Ethical, legal and human rights challenges

11 March
09:30-12:30 Human Enhancement: Ethical, legal and human rights challenges
13:30-17:30 Artificial Intelligence and Robotics: Ethical, legal and human rights challenges

12 March
13:00-17:00 Governance of emerging technologies: incorporating ethics and human rights

Two panel discussions might be of particular interest to Technology Bloggers readers:

On Thursday 11 March at 11:40, future strategies for human enhancement, ethics and human rights features the following interesting array of speakers.

Lesley-Ann Daly, CyborgNest
Christopher Coenen, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Marc Roux, President of  the Association Française Transhumaniste – Technoprog
Yana Toom, Member of European Parliament, STOA member.

While later in the afternoon (at 16:40) a panel will discuss strategies for future ethical and human rights challenges of AI and robotics, and it also includes some really interesting names:

Cornelia Kutterer, Senior Director on Microsoft’s European Government Affairs team in Brussels
Patrick Breyer, Member of European Parliament, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance
Clara Neppel, Senior Director of the IEEE European office
Vidushi Marda, Article 19 and Carnegie India

Have a look at the full programme, or go to the conference website landing page to register. It’s free!

A Breathalyzer that can Detect COVID-19

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In the Netherlands, the Dutch health authorities are using a breathalyzer machine called the SprioNose to help detect COVID-19 cases. The machine works rather like an alcohol test in that it detects traces of the virus in the breath blown into the machine.

The health department state that in 70% of cases tested, the rapid test can determine with certainty that they are not infected with the coronavirus. For the remaining 30%, the results are not conclusive. If the breath test does not provide a definite negative result, the person will be given another test to find out if they are infected with coronavirus with the common PCR test.

The results only take a couple of minutes, and the screening capability means that many people can avoid the invasive nose swab and the related procedures for analysis, saving a few red noses and a lot of medical testing resources.

The SpiroNose technology was developed by the company Breathomix. The Leiden University Medical Centre and GGD Amsterdam (the health department) have thoroughly tested the SpiroNose at coronavirus test locations. At the moment, some 600 breath tests can take place every day in Amsterdam, but this will quickly increase to more than 2,500 breath tests per day. Moving forward, the rapid breath test will also be used in the rest of the Netherlands.

SpiroNose

Bring it on I say!