A revolution in small, sustainable steps
Today I founded Zero Hunger AI UG (haftungsbeschränkt) with the intention of developing it into a non-profit software business gGmbH.
I think of this as joining a revolution. Let me explain you why.
The current default mode of business, the for-profit model maximizing shareholder value, is not sustainable for the planet and humanity. The depletion of resources, the widening income gap, and the ever-growing social and environmental problems make it clear that we need to find a new way of doing business. The business as usual model has failed us, and we need a new paradigm that places the well-being of humanity and the planet at its core.
With the advent of powerful and useful AI, it is still possible to solve humanity’s biggest problems, especially the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) such as No Poverty, Zero Hunger, and Health and Well-being for everyone. AI has the potential to revolutionize our ability to address these issues, but it requires a different approach to how we do business.
The need for data protection and fair distribution of profits generated from the AI models trained on everyone’s data requires a new non-profit software business model. This new model has already been proven to be viable by organizations like the Signal Foundation, Wikipedia, Mozilla Foundation, and others. These organizations show us that it is possible to create sustainable and impactful software businesses that serve the public good.
Traditional non-profit and public organizations are not capable of developing software themselves. While some organizations try outsourcing, there is generally no good solution for developing, maintaining, and operating software for the public domain and common welfare. This is why we need a new model that can bring together the best of the non-profit and for-profit worlds.
The potential for innovative and sustainable AI and software powered services is enormous, because a few good things come together:
- Need: Minimizing human suffering and giving every person a fair chance in life is among the most ambitious, challenging and rewarding problems to solve.
- Money: There are countless funding and business opportunities for solutions that contribute to the public good, especially the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
- People: The most scarce resource for traditional businesses today is great people, especially AI and software experts. We are especially value-driven and want to do something with purpose and impact. Also the best people look for the greatest challenges. This gives non-profit organizations, who know how to enable them to have impact, a huge edge in attracting talent.
When organizations collaborate and these three things come together, a user with a real problem and the resources and capacity to develop a great solution, amazing things can happen. I have done this with childgrowthmonitor.org and I know how a small idea, with great execution, can spin into a huge effort and benefit for vulnerable people.
That’s why I founded ZeroHunger.ai today. Our goal is to serve the public good by advancing an ecosystem of sustainable non-profit software businesses that are collaborative, competitive and agile. By disrupting the current unsustainable way of doing business, we hope to help solve humanity’s most pressing issues and make the world a better place for everyone.
It’s a long journey that will take many small steps by many great people. But our goal is clear - erradicate poverty and hunger by 2030. Empower the people to use AI for the public good. It will be a slow revolution at the start, but working together, I’m sure we will get there.
I’m looking forward to talking to you about this!
Markus Matiaschek