As we buzz with excitement over AI-driven innovation, billions still face daily struggles with basic needs such as food, clean water, sanitation, and access to reliable energy. This dual reality underscores the profound global inequities—not just in technology access, but in fundamental living conditions. While AI holds transformative potential, addressing both digital poverty and broader material deprivations must be central to any development strategy.
Ultimately, the shift towards a more equitable world starts offline, with the choices we make every day. The Scale Of Digital And Material Poverty As of 2023, an estimated 2.7 billion people remain offline, and over 3.
5 billion people lack reliable electricity, according to the International Telecommunication Union . These statistics reveal the chasm between technological advancements in wealthier nations and the barriers that prevent billions from accessing the digital economy and its opportunities. Far from reaping the benefits of AI, many people are still battling hunger and preventable diseases, their lives untouched by the promises of technological progress.
While the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015, aim to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030 – a goal that we are far from achieving – the reality is even more complex. Billions still live on less than $30 per day —a figure well above the World Bank's extreme poverty line of $2.15 per day, but still insufficient for a life of dignity and.