While technology companies compete to create ever more powerful artificial intelligence, Bill Gates has decided to turn his attention to those who risk being left behind in the new digital era.
The Gates Foundation will allocate at least one billion dollars over the next two years to the development of accessible AI technologies. These systems should help not only large corporations and wealthy users, but also ordinary doctors, teachers, farmers and schoolchildren around the world.
About 40% of the funds will go to healthcare. Artificial intelligence is planned to be used for diagnosing diseases, supporting medical workers, helping pregnant women and newborns, as well as for creating new medicines and vaccines.
Another 40% will go to education. This refers to AI assistants that will be able to explain complex topics, tailor assignments to each student's level and ease the work of teachers.
A tenth of the funds is intended for agriculture. Farmers will be able to receive recommendations taking into account the weather, the condition of the soil and the characteristics of the crops being grown. For small farms, such digital consultation could become a genuine replacement for an entire team of specialists.
The remaining 10% will be invested in the development of language databases and digital infrastructure. Today, most of the information on which artificial intelligence is trained is in English. Because of this, millions of people cannot fully use new technologies in their native language.
According to Bill Gates, AI is capable of narrowing the gap between rich and poor β but only if it is created for everyone from the outset. Technological progress by itself does not guarantee equality: the most convenient and powerful tools are usually the first to reach those who can already pay for them.
That is why the new billion will be invested not simply in artificial intelligence, but in its accessibility. So that a digital assistant appears not only in a modern office, but also in a rural school, a small hospital or on a farm in a remote area.
Perhaps the main achievement of AI will not be the ability to write texts or create beautiful images. But the ability to promptly suggest a diagnosis to a doctor, help a child understand a lesson and save a farmer's future harvest. π
