ROME - AI-powered robotic vehicles could deliver food parcels to conflict and disaster zones by as early as next year in a move aimed to spare the lives of humanitarian workers, according to a World Food Programme (WFP) official.

Attacks against aid workers have intensified in recent years amid the highest number of violent conflicts since World War Two, according to the United Nations.

WFP, the UN’s food aid agency, alone lost three workers earlier this year in Sudan’s conflict, reports AP.
AI robots in disaster zones

Bernhard Kowatsch, who heads the WFP’s innovation department, said: “Sometimes it’s too dangerous to send in a driver or WFP staff. So using that technology could actually be a step change”.

The AI robotic trucks can carry up to two tonnes of aid.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “AI also has the potential for enormous good. Its powerful tools could drive forward the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals: by making a massive leap in health care and eradicating diseases that affect millions; by transforming education and empowering people everywhere to build a better future.”