The Global FAIR Space Blog

Today, I had a think about when the concept of equity first made its way into my brain, even before I knew the terminology.

When I was 7, we visited my mum’s family in India over Christmas vacation. My aunty and cousins lived in a high rise overlooking the coast and when I looked out the window and saw an entire village raised above the water, perched on stilts, yet connected by cables for electricity and even television. Now that I think back to it, it was likely one of my first unconscious inklings of how complex and uneven access to resources could be, even though back then, I only thought “How cool is that!”

Humans will always find a way.

Years later, in high school in the US, I learned about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. While we were taught nothing about the American humanistic psychologist, Abraham Maslow himself or of his artist/sculptor wife, Bertha Goodman…

perhaps you, like I, have had a version of that pyramid chart living rent-free in your heads for years.

From the bottom up, we have:

Basic Needs

1. Physiological Needs – food, water warmth, rest
2. Safety needs – security, safety

Psychological needs

• Belongingness and love needs: intimate relationships, friends
• Esteem needs: prestige and feeling of accomplishment

Self-fulfilment needs

• Self-actualization: achieving one’s full potential, including creative activities

Put another way (and because I like food): Think of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs like your appetite. Maslow himself said, this journey isn’t one-way or the same for everyone – there is no one size fits all. We can certainly crave different things at the same time, and what we hunger for can and will change. Sometimes we just need chocolate.

Or a chocolate fountain, which is my personal preference.

Sometimes, all we want is a hug from a friend.

Sometimes, we want everything all at once, because what drives us is a mix & match of needs, not just one clear-cut desire.

And then there are places where people just want clean and drinkable water, as located on the 1st tier of the Basic Level on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Recent findings from the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas reveal that 25 countries, home to a quarter of the world’s population, experience extremely high water stress annually, nearly exhausting their total available water supplies. Additionally, at least half of the global population – about 4 billion people – must endure highly water-stressed conditions for at least one month every year.

Let’s review why we need clean water:

• Maintaining Hygiene: Without clean water, basic hygiene practices like bathing, hand washing, and brushing teeth become challenging, increasing the risk of diseases.
• Cooking and Food Preparation: Safe, clean water is crucial for cooking and preparing food, affecting nutrition and food safety.
• Drinking and Daily Hydration: Essential for survival, the lack of drinkable water directly threatens life and health.
• Agricultural Activities: Water is fundamental for irrigation in farming, which affects food production and livelihoods.
• Healthcare and Sanitation: Water is vital in healthcare settings, from cleaning medical facilities to performing medical procedures safely.
• Educational Activities: Lack of water can lead to school closures or hinder children’s ability to attend school, especially in developing regions where children may need to fetch water during school hours.

Water is essential for cultivating crops, raising animals, generating electricity, preserving human health, promoting equitable societies, and achieving global climate objectives. So how does this relate to technology? And in turn, AI? And, of course, equity?

Water plays a critical role in technology and AI development, not just in the direct manufacturing of devices but also in the data centres that power AI systems. These data centres require significant amounts of water for cooling purposes to prevent overheating as they process vast amounts of data. As the demand for AI and advanced technologies grows, so does the need for water in these facilities – the “water footprint” – which can make water scarcity issues much worse in regions already facing high water stress.

The equity issue here is that the expansion of tech industries may divert water away from local communities who need it for basic survival and agriculture – that bottom, basic level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The explosion of technology development the world is currently experiencing poses potential risks to equitable water distribution globally. Lack of access to clean, drinkable water is specifically an equity issue because it disproportionately affects impoverished and marginalized communities. This leaves them vulnerable to health risks and economic disadvantages.

It is this uneven distribution and inaccessibility of clean water that highlights systemic inequalities that continues cycles of poverty and prevents overall societal progress. Therefore, it is crucial to consider sustainable practices that balance technological advancement with the essential water needs of all our communities.

By prioritizing such practices, we can ensure that our pursuit of innovation does not compromise the fundamental right to water for all our global communities, but rather supports a future where emerging technology strengthens equity.

#AIAndEquity #MarginalizedCommunities #PriorityPopulations #CleanWater #ArtificialIntelligence #MaslowsHierarchyofNeeds #Water #WaterRisk #WaterFootprint #WaterStress #SustainabilityInTechnology #PolicyMaking #WorldHealthOrganization #Sustainability #Fairness #AIGovernance #AI #Equity #TheGlobalFAIRSpace

*Every graphic on this post except for Maslow’s chart and the pic of Bertha and Maslow generated by Natasha J. Stillman and ChatGPT-4 (DALLE-3)