With AI tipped to revolutionise pretty much every sector on the planet, players across the telecoms ecosystem have not missed a trick in heavily pushing the technology’s benefits.

And while customer service use cases are proving popular, Deutsche Telekom’s 3D avatars and SK Telecom’s pet health analysis are just two examples of how companies are thinking outside the box in developing their AI plays.

It led us to think about other slightly “out there” AI deployments. In this feature, Mobile World Live dives into five interesting scenarios in which AI is being used to positively impact societies, citizens and economies.

  1. Fisheries and agriculture 

In a village in Indonesia, shrimp farmers deploy a mobile-based AI assistant to keep track of pond water quality, feeding schedule and market price for shrimps. Designed by start-up eFishery, the AI, capable of Javanese language, is designed to promote sustainable and smart farming practices by providing farmers real-time data to keep aquatic stock healthy. In Kenya, Nairobi-based agritech player UjuziKilimo has been practicing “precision farming”, combining the use of AI, IoT and data analytics to help smallholder farmers examine soil and optimise yields. 

A similar use case is taking place in Nigeria, where the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria teamed with a university to explore the use of AI in detecting pests and improving the value chain of yellow peppers. 

According to Statista, AI deployment in the world’s agriculture market is forecast to grow to more than $3.8 billion by end-2024, and today, many agri-businesses are starting to look at AI to empower ethical farming practices. 

  1. Environmental conservation   

Scientists and conservationists are increasingly exploring the deployment of Machine Learning (ML) to protect wildlife and biodiversity. BirdNET, a free AI-powered mobile application, is able to identify more than 3,000 bird species and was designed to encourage citizen participation in biodiversity research. By recording a bird’s sounds, the user will be provided with data on the bird species, with the audio recording used for further research and analysis. Meanwhile, AI software WildBook has been used to monitor and assess the database of giraffe population in Kenya through pattern recognition and photo identification. 

Vodafone Group had trialled a similar solution in Kenya through a tie-up with Safaricom and Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). Dubbed m-Twiga, the partners described the tool as a 360-camera system which uses AI and IoT technology to detect and identify animals within the vicinity, automatically sending a text to local wildlife conservationists when an animal is detected. 

  1. Digital archiving 

While GenAI often found itself at the centre of heated debates linked to unauthorised use of arts and literature in training datasets, ML deployment in the archival and preservation of cultural and historical artefacts is often overlooked. 

AI’s pattern recognition ability is most useful in this practice; Microsoft, which launched an AI for cultural heritage initiative a few years back, helped develop an AI system Interwoven in partnership with India-based arts and historical institution MAP Academy. On Interwoven’s web platform, the tool takes users to the origins of textile patterns by tracing where they had appeared across the globe. 

Another notable example is Forensic Architecture, a research body at London’s Goldsmiths university which employs AI, satellite image analysis and 3D digital modelling to preserve historical documents and discover new ones, which it later uses to investigate human rights issues. 

  1. Veterinary industry 

By now, the telecoms world will have heard of SK Telecom’s AI pet health diagnostics technology launched in various markets across different regions. Named X Caliber, the system is designed to significantly reduce the time of pet health diagnosis by allowing practitioners to analyse X-Ray results in seconds through a cloud-based platform accessible on mobile or PCs. 

With software developers exploring new use cases in the sector, AI is expected to help improve various diagnostic procedures. Take SediVue DX Analyser, an AI-powered device developed by pet health innovations specialist Idexx, designed to analyse the absence or presence of bacteria in cats and dogs. Outside the clinic, many field experts have also turned to AI to schedule appointments and automate daily tasks. 

  1. Care robots for the elderly 

Over the years, there has been a growing interest in research on robots in elderly care. A report by UK science journal Nature in April stated social robots in older-person caregiving is noticeably attracting investment, though the ethical nature of this approach is being questioned. Nature brought to light care robots’ perceived benefits in delivering companionship and social interaction as a form of therapy to older people, particularly those with dementia. 

The outlet, however, pointed to fears the deployment of this new technology might further distance the elderly from human contact. 

Meanwhile in Japan, the government has pumped a significant sum of money over the past two decades into the R&D of social robots as the country grapples with high figures of an ageing population, resulting in an increased demand for caregiving roles. 

As of September 2023, government data recorded almost 30 per cent of Japan’s 125 million population are aged 80 or older.