1 . COVID-19 shutdowns forced people out of work and pushed tens of millions into poverty worldwide. Governments tried hard to provide aid. It was easy in a small country, but difficult for a country with large population and vast rural areas.     1     Doing a detailed, nationwide, house-to-house survey takes people time and money. Luckily, satellites can see poverty from space.

Researchers have been finding ways to identify areas of wealth and poverty in satellite images. Through some satellite data and aerial images of one town or another, you can sort of tell whether it’s wealthy or not. Wealthier homes tend to have metal roofs while poor homes tend to have thatched roofs. Wealthier neighborhoods have paved roads and bigger plots of lands, more spaced out.     2     The researchers trained artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize these patterns.

    3     The researchers put AI to work studying patterns of mobile phone use in those regions. Rich people will make just more phone calls than poor people. They also might make more expensive international calls. They might use more mobile data because they have smartphones.     4    

The researchers use the system to identify about 60,000 people to receive benefits. The advantage of the satellite imagery and phone data approach is that it’s extremely fast and very convenient.     5     In shocks like climate disasters where there’s no time or way to get detailed information on the ground, satellites mobile phones and AI could help deliver aid quickly to people in need.