AI, Virtual Reality, and Blockchain Will Change the Lives of the Poor

Solutions for the Poor to Lessen Inequality in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Blockchain

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According to the United Nations Development Programme, nearly 1/2 of the world’s population of more than 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion people live in extreme poverty or less than $1.25 a day. In the United States, 13.5% of Americans (43.1 million) live in poverty, 30% of Americans (100 million) Americans live in near poverty. Poverty is alive and well in our world today. As we usher in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Blockchain has the potential to change the lives of people of the poor. When the day comes, when the lives of people living in poverty are no longer plagued with disease, stress, and inhumane working conditions, then our societies can truly be “civilized”.

Artificial Intelligence’s Role in Disease Prevention

One of the biggest issues with people who are living in poverty is a disease. Often, unsanitary living conditions coupled with an unhealthy diet cause the spread of diseases. Inadequate healthcare means that diseases are often untreated. Inadequate healthy food supply means that people, (even if fat) are often mal-nourished.

Clean Water & Sustainability of Food Supplies

In countries where most people live in poverty, clean water and sustainability of food supplies is an urgent issue. KETOS is a company that’s creating products using Artificial Intelligence to ensure water safety and consistency. The company’s product KETOS Wave measures water pressure, flow, and volume to determine possible leaks. Another product KETOS Shield detects 20 different dangerous contaminants to the water. The idea is to use this type of products in villages where water come from central sources for both home use and agriculture to ensure water safety.

Scientists around the world are using AI to measure the quality of important water supplies such as wells, rivers, and streams. These AI tools can detect harmful bacteria, PH, chemical contaminants, and oxygen levels. These testing tools can also be used in water treatment plants to ensure water safety in cities and towns.

AI is increasingly transforming the way that we farm around the world.

AI-enabled robots are planting seeds, harvesting crops, and irrigating large plots of land. On industrial farms, AI-enabled machines and robots are the next generations of farmworkers. One key benefit of using AI-enabled systems is the use of fewer fertilizers on crops. AI systems can detect bugs, weeds and ailing plants to select the best fertilizer to use and exactly how much to use. Small family farms around the world can also use parts of these systems without the cost of initial setup. They can simply upload images of bugs, weeds that they find and get feedback on what to do to prevent and solve the issues.

Access to healthier, more sustainable food supplies, and access to clean water mean lower healthcare costs

Chronic illnesses are prevalent in people living in poverty. Diseases such as TB, malaria, HIV/AIDS are often combined with malnutrition to take a toll on people living in poverty. At the same time, in developed countries, eating unhealthy processed foods coupled with a lack of exercise contributes to chronic illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, depression, high blood pressure, and even asthma.

By making healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables free of contaminants available to more people, the choice for a better lifestyle can be made available to those living below the poverty line.

By making access to clean water available to more people, the possibilities of spreading infectious diseases are lowered.

By creating more sustainable food supplies, the rate of malnutrition in people living in poverty is lowered.

The result is the lowering of healthcare costs. Currently, in the U.S., $3.5 trillion are spent on healthcare each year. A huge chunk of that is spent related to chronic illnesses that are related to poverty. In less developed countries, healthcare systems are usually overcrowded with serving only emergency patients. This leaves many people underserved. By minimizing the spread of diseases, making available healthier foods, and clean water, our healthcare systems can serve more people with more dire needs at a lower cost to our society.