Let's Talk about Contact Tracing in the USA

So what is contact tracing? Well essentially it's a way where if you were to test positive for COVID there is a mechanism to notify people you've had contact with for the last 14 days to help better inform them to make better decisions or to go get tested themselves. Good news is that we are all addicted to little computers that we carry with us everywhere so we just need to find a "responsible" way to use these devices. So now that we've got that out of the way let's talk through how this actually works. There are 2 main approaches.

1. Centralized approach - Where your cell phone is sending information back to a central repository (controlled by say the CDC or other government entity) ... this is kind like how Napster was back in the day.
2. Decentralized approach - Where you keep the data securely on your phone and if you do test positive the broadcast to notify people comes from your phone without sending many details to the CDC or government agencies. This is kind of like Kazaa back in the day.

In reality the success of either approach hinges on citizens actually installing an app on their phone.... and because we value our freedom really only #2 is an option [even though Germany, the UK and others pushed for #1]. To be fair in other countries where individual liberties are not so well respected they can force everyone to do #1 (which is scary but also effective)

This is where Apple and Google come in. They control the mobile phone market in the US and Europe. They are working together to deliver a solution for #2 but without getting into to encryption etc basically they are trying to do it with security as the top priority. So if I install the app and walk near someone my phone isn't my name or number it's just a unique code that gets transmitted over bluetooth to people I come within 15 feet of. So if we all behaved like responsible adults then this would be enough and we could more effectively target areas with infections on the rise. The problem is we are not all responsible adults and if anyone with a phone can simply go on the app and say "hey I'm sick ... I've tested positive... then it will alert everyone even though you were just being sarcastic (haha)". So now we need an additional step where doctors or hospitals are given special codes of some kind and then if you test positive you go on your phone with the special code and then can send out the broadcast. Long story short it's never as easy as you want it to be. The pandemic is forcing policy, individual liberty, and technology to clash and all the while lives are at stake. We can do this but be aware that without a vaccine contact tracing is an effective method we all need to agree on to return to a slightly better new normal.