Prince William Turns to AI to Tackle Homelessness

Britain's Prince William has unveiled an artificial intelligence initiative designed to identify people at risk of losing their homes before they end up on the streets or in temporary accommodation. He announced the project at London Tech Week, saying that data companies work with every day could help detect problems at an early stage.

His Homewards project, established three years ago to reduce homelessness, has launched the Homelessness Data Lab. The initiative will analyze anonymized data and look for warning signs such as unpaid bills, phone disconnections and a child's absence from school.

Partners on the project include LandAid, Salesforce, Bloomberg, VodafoneThree, Accenture and NatWest Group. According to Homewards, homelessness affects more than 430,000 people in Britain.

William said early intervention could help people retain housing, employment and community ties. At the event he was also shown a map using anonymized bank data to identify risks in the London Borough of Lambeth, which he described as a ground-breaking tool.

(reuters, bak)