AI paints shocking picture of the future of homelessness in Canada
Homeless in Canada
Canada is facing a problem that is increasingly getting more and more drastic: homelessness.
Now, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has predicted that by the end of this decade, the problem is going to almost triple in terms of numbers.
Homelessness and Canada
In Canada, currently, as per estimates by the Homeless Hub, a research organisation run by York University, there are somewhere between 150,000 to 300,000 people experiencing homelessness.
As per a prediction by an Artificial Intelligence algorithm, by 2030, the number of homeless in Canada will grow to about 550,000 to 570,000.
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The prediction has been made by HelpSeeker, a Calgary-based technology company's predictive AI.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday (Dec 4th), Alina Turner, CEO of HelpSeeker, said that the prediction "doesn't mean that we're going to be looking at visible homelessness."
"We have layers of visibility, we have rough sleeping, an encampment, we've got people that are in those unsafe situations (and) we have people that are couch surfing," CTV News quotes her as saying.
How did the AI predict this?
HelpSeeker's AI prediction used a variety of data sourced from municipalities across Canada. This included the country's shelter usage, hidden homelessness estimates, inflation trends, unemployment numbers and other factors like housing and rental stock.
The prediction also factored in the expected population growth, which, as per Statistics Canada, could reach between 42.9 million and 52.5 million in 2043.
Compounding the variety of factors, the AI predicted that homelessness will increase by around 83 per cent by the end of this decade.
Overall, close to a million Canadians are at risk of homelessness. This includes hidden homelessness — those couch-surfing and not enrolling in shelters — that, as per the AI, could number around 300,000 people by 2030.
It predicted that those living in absolute homelessness conditions, i.e., without a physical home and spending nights in emergency shelters, could reach around 200,000 by 2030.
How can the problem be dealt with?
Researchers as per the CTV News report say that increasing beds with medical care by 103,000, and an additional 50,000 recovery and transitional care beds, 30,000 emergency shelter beds and 1.3 million non-market housing units could help tackle the issue.
As per HelpSeeker estimates, this would cost Canada more than $169 billion to build. A further $16 billion each year would be needed for the maintenance.
However, Turner warns that "If we're not able to build these systems now, these trajectories are going to go unchanged."
(With inputs from agencies)
