The UN’s World Food Program (WFP) has been experimenting with text and Facebook messenger chatbots to monitor food insecurity in hard-to-reach areas, turning smartphones and social media into lifelines for those in need. The WFP’s “Food Bot,” rolled out earlier this year, works on apps like Facebook Messenger to communicate with mass amounts of people about food insecurity in order to find out where food supplies are most needed. Using interactive chatbots allows the WFP to overcome language barriers as well as access unsafe areas, all while saving thousands of dollars that would usually be spent on data collection.
Interactive chatbots are helping the UN fight world hunger
More of Today's Solutions
Stronger concrete, cleaner landfills—how scrap carpet fibers are reinventing ...
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Concrete is the foundation of modern civilization, but its notorious tendency to crack isn’t just a construction headache—it’s ...
Read MoreInvestigating when our bodies change the fastest and why it matters
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Aging might seem like a slow, steady march, but science suggests otherwise. If you’ve ever looked in the ...
Read More16-year-old codes speech app to help his nonverbal sister communicate
Families of individuals who have conditions that make it difficult or impossible for them to communicate verbally can attest to the fact that going ...
Read MoreHow aspirin and crop resilience go hand in hand
Did you know that plants have been making aspirin for millions of years? And humans have been using it as far back as Neanderthal ...
Read More
