Microsoft Premonition: What if we could predict epidemics like we predict the weather?

Humans rely on the world’s smallest species for survival.

The world’s smallest species make up 80% of life on Earth, and form the foundation for other species. There are millions, even billions of species of arthropods (mosquitos, bees, beetles), microbes and viruses; scientists haven’t yet identified them all. Some arthropods, such as bees, are mass pollinators and beneficial to humans, while others carry pathogens that can disrupt human life in catastrophic ways. The Ebola virus outbreak in Africa in 2014 inspired Microsoft to investigate how disease originates and spreads. They realized that a “global sensor network” could monitor organisms’ activities in different environments. Every living thing creates traces that can be tracked over time. New developments in robotics, autonomous systems and cloud computing make it possible to “map the biome” at a scale previously not imagined.

Douglas E. Norris, an entomologist and professor in molecular biology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University, identified Premonition as a “game-changer.” Currently, mosquito control has been “reactive” based on what is observed. With a better forecasting...