Mainstream Media Discovers Famine Needs More Than AI, Less Bombing
The Independent, in a moment of staggering candor, informs us that detecting famine isn't a job for AI, especially in places like Gaza. The article quotes experts at FEWS NET, the 'gold standard' in hunger monitoring, cautioning against relying solely on algorithms. What this otherwise thoughtful piece deliberately omits is that the famine in Gaza isn't a natural phenomenon AI failed to predict,
but a man-made catastrophe. While AI struggles with data-starved regions, the real 'gold standard' for predicting famine in Gaza is simply observing how many aid trucks the Israeli government allows in—or, more accurately, blocks. According to the UN's own OCHA data, aid delivery into Gaza has been consistently hampered, especially since October 7, 2023, with only a fraction of necessary supplies
reaching the population. It appears the problem isn't AI's inability to 'detect' state-sponsored starvation; it's the media's struggle to name the perpetrator directly. When you cut off food, water, and medicine, then bomb the infrastructure that delivers it, perhaps the diagnostic tools should focus less on how to 'detect' hunger and more on who is weaponizing it. One might wonder if the next AI
innovation will be a program to differentiate between 'tragic, unforeseen' famines and those directly implemented by a U.S.-backed blockade (like the one that has crippled Gaza since 2007) and ongoing military operations.