IT Blog

As governments look to ease general social-distancing measures and instead use more targeted strategies to stop coronavirus transmission, we face a social dilemma about the limits of cooperative behavior.

Consider the controversy over contact-tracing phone apps, which can help authorities identify people with whom someone diagnosed with COVID-19 has recently come into close contact.

Oxford University research suggests such apps could effectively stop the epidemic if 60% of the population use them, though even with lower uptake they still have some value.

The Australian government’s goal is for 40% of the population to use its app. It is hoping people will do this voluntarily.

That’s double the uptake so far achieved in Singapore, which launched its TraceTogether app on March 20. This despite a six-nation survey (including Australia) suggesting Singaporeans are the most relaxed about the personal privacy concerns.

My research into cooperative behavior suggests there’s no reason to…