More natural disasters than ever before in my lifetime are occurring as a result of climate change. However, rather than recognizing the trend and developing adequate measures to mitigate or prevent disasters like we recently witnessed in Hawaii, we still seem to be behaving as though each disaster is a singular and unexpected event.
We could better ensure ourselves that the enormous damage sustained won’t happen again by changing everything from how we respond to disasters to the tools we have at our disposal but aren’t using to prevent or lessen their impact. However, we keep failing to use what we already know to solve the issue.
Let’s explore some possible solutions this week to how we can improve our approach to dealing with disasters like the recent Maui fire. We’ll end with my Product of the Week, a new all-in-one desktop computer from HP that might be ideal for anyone looking for a simple to set up and use desktop computing solution.
Blame versus. Analysis
In order to recover from a disaster, you should first rescue and save the living before investigating what went wrong. From there, you create and put into action a plan to ensure it never occurs again. This final stage involves removing individuals from positions they have demonstrated an inability to perform, though not necessarily those who held crucial positions at the time the disaster occurred.
Instead, we frequently assign blame almost immediately, which makes it challenging to determine what caused a disaster because no one likes to take responsibility for their actions, especially when they had no control over the situation.
By guiding a process that focuses on the aspects of mitigating the problem that would have the greatest impact on saving lives both immediately and in the long run rather than focusing on holding people accountable, generative AI could greatly assist.
In addition to limiting the scope of the analysis of the issue, placing the emphasis on blame frequently brings an end to the process once people have been charged or fired, as if their work was completed. However, the root causes of the problem still need to be addressed. If the issue recurs, the person who has dealt with it before is probably better able to decide what needs to be done first. Therefore, it might not be a good idea to fire the manager if they have experience.
If properly trained, generative AI can act as a dynamic policy that can adapt to address a variety of disaster variants, giving instructions on where to focus first, aiding in the analysis of the results, and suggesting both an objective course of action and a procedure to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again.
The Metaverse Simulation
One issue with disasters is that those trying to lessen their impact frequently lack the resources to do so. Due to the government’s reluctance to cover the costs of implementation, disaster mitigation teams frequently have their plans rejected.
One of those two things would have occurred if the power company in Hawaii had been warned that failing to bury the power lines or at the very least power them down would result in their demise. However, they failed to do so because they performed a poor risk/reward analysis.
Looking back, it’s simple for me to say all of this. However, you can still create highly accurate and predictive simulations using software like Nvidia’s Omniverse, which can visually demonstrate, as if you were present, what would happen in a disaster if something was done or not done.
Because Hawaii is in a hurricane path and has previously experienced high wind events, a high wind event is likely to occur there. So it would make sense to run simulations of wind, water, and tsunami events to find likely mitigation strategies.
If shutting down the grid during a wind event was too disruptive, the solution might be as straightforward as moving the electrical wiring underground.
Additionally, you can simulate evacuation routes. We are aware that excessive traffic can cause gridlock, making it difficult for anyone to get away. The evacuation must be phased in order to move the greatest number of people from a location, with the closest residents to the event’s epicenter being moved out first.
However, as is frequently the case, those who are farthest away from the event experience the least traffic, while those who are closest to it are probably unable to flee, demonstrating a clearly flawed system.
You ought to be able to phase an evacuation more skillfully and guarantee that the most people are made safe through simulation and AI-driven communications.
Communications
Communications is a key problem in disaster management.
The government must have an emergency communication platform that will function even if cell towers are down or have hardened the cell towers so they don’t go down. While Cisco typically sends trucks into disaster areas to restore communications as part of the company’s sustainability efforts, it can take days to weeks to get the trucks to a disaster.
It’s interesting to note that on September 11, 2001, all communication in New York City was stymied due to a sizable communications hub beneath the towers that failed when they fell. The two-way pager network on BlackBerry, which remained operational, was what made the difference. In our collective brilliance, we discontinued the network that remained up instead of institutionalizing it, leaving us without a network that will withstand the disasters we see occurring all over the world.
It’s important to note that BlackBerry’s AtHoc critical event management solution would have been of enormous assistance in the response to this most recent disaster on Maui.
Since most people no longer own AM radios, which used to be a reliable way to get information in a disaster, simulation can once again highlight the advantages of such a network and re-establishing a more robust communications network that will survive an emergency.
The mesh network created by autonomous vehicles will eventually be able to withstand a disaster. They could be safely and quickly routed out of danger using centralized control and an AI-determined fastest and safest route.
Rebuilding
After a disaster, we frequently rebuild, but we frequently use the same kinds of structures that failed us in the past, which is absurd. The exception was made in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck San Francisco in 1906, which prompted laws to be passed to make buildings more earthquake-resistant.
We should build homes in fire-prone areas using materials that can withstand a firestorm. Metal, insulation, water sprinklers, and a water source like a pool or sizable water tank can all be used to construct fire-resistant homes. In order to better shelter in place rather than having to evacuate and possibly getting caught on the road by the fire, it would also be sage to use similar to European Rolling Shutters for window protection.
This building method will better ensure that people don’t lose most or all of their possessions, families, or pets because insurance companies are now avoiding areas that are likely to be at high risk.
Once more, simulation can demonstrate how well a specific home design could withstand a catastrophe. Depending on the material used, 3D-printed homes on Maui can be built faster and are more resilient to fire and other natural disasters.
Large Lift
It’s important to move large amounts of water quickly in order to combat fires and floods. While the size of the vehicle required to handle floods may be impractical in the near future, having enough water on board to quickly put out a fire that was still relatively small is not.
For a while now, we’ve been discussing the possibility of bringing back blimps and other large-scale airships. We could automate them with AI so that if the aircraft has an accident, it doesn’t kill the crew, and use them to quickly transport water to fires. With the right sensor set, AI can navigate more safely in confined spaces, see through smoke, and respond more quickly than a human crew.
We went to great lengths to develop the atomic bomb to put an end to war, just as we haven’t been able to muster the same level of effort to develop weapons to combat the rising number of natural disasters despite the fact that we are at war with our environment.
To reduce the number of fires caused by lightning strikes, we could, for example, develop special bombers that drop self-deploying lightning rods in difficult-to-reach locations. You would need 400 lightning rods per square mile, according to the estimate I’ve seen, but you could start by just concentrating on difficult-to-reach areas.
To lower the roughly $100 per rod purchase and installation cost at scale, you could use robotic tools and drones to hang the lightning rods from trees or drop them from bombers.
The Real Problem is summarized
The actual issue is that we aren’t treating these catastrophes seriously enough to stop them. Even though disasters are now almost a monthly occurrence in places like where I live, we seem to treat each one as though it were a one-time, nonrecurring occurrence.
When a disaster strikes, we have two options: we can evacuate to a safer area or we can rebuild using technology to keep our home from being destroyed. The majority of us do neither at the moment and then whine about how unfair it is that we had to go through that catastrophe once more.
I’m also starting to believe that investing more money in hardening rather than insurance might produce better results, given how shaky insurance companies are becoming about these catastrophes.
Though AI might be helpful in this situation, no one has yet trained it to answer questions like these. Maybe it ought to be. In this way, we could ask our AI what the best course of action would be, and its response wouldn’t be influenced by the vendors with whom it is affiliated, popular political theories, or other skewed sources. Instead, it would decide how to respond based on what would best safeguard us, our loved ones, and our property. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?
27-inch All-in-One HP EliteOne 870 G9 computer
My two favorite all-in-one computers were the IBM NetVista and the second-generation iMac, which resembled the vintage Pixar lamp.
I preferred the Apple because you could move the screen almost anywhere, and the IBM because, unlike most all-in-ones, you could upgrade it. Sadly, by the beginning of the 2000s, both had virtually disappeared from the market.
Since then, demand has shifted primarily in favor of the current-generation iMac, which has a high center of gravity and a lower construction cost thanks to the intelligence hidden behind the display. If the base is too light, as it is in the current iMac, I believe this design poses a serious tip-over risk.
The HP EliteOne 870 G9 has a large, weighty base that should keep it from falling over if bumped, Bang and Olufsen audio (which nicely filled up my test room), 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, a 12th generation Intel processor, and a fantastic 27-inch display.
It has a decent built-in camera that is not concealed behind the monitor, unlike earlier designs. Because it’s less likely to break, I believe that this is a better solution in practice.
The 870 G9 uses integrated Intel graphics, similar to most all-in-ones, so it isn’t a gaming computer. It is still suitable for those who primarily perform productivity-related tasks, web browsing, and watching videos in addition to light gaming. It worked perfectly for the game I play the most frequently, though it is an older game.
The screen is a gorgeous FHD, IPS display with a brightness rating of 250 nit (good only for indoor use). The keyboard and mouse are also inexpensive, as they are with most desktop PCs, but since most people use aftermarket keyboards and mice, this shouldn’t be a problem. A 27-inch all-in-one computer can be purchased for around $1,140 in the base configuration.
It’s optional to use a fingerprint reader, but I found that Microsoft Hello worked just as well and was a better option when using the camera. The monitor/PC is simply snapped onto the monitor arm after two screws are used to fasten it to the base. As a vPro machine, this all-in-one will abide by the majority of corporate policies. Although it weighs only 24 pounds, it is light enough to move from one room to another but is not truly mobile.
The PC is a good choice for a small apartment, dorm, or kitchen where a TV/PC might be useful because it has a respectable port-out with 2 USB type Cs, 5 USB type As, and a special HDMI-in port in case you want to connect a set-top box, game system, or other video source and use it as a TV.
The HP EliteOne 870 G9 is a great all-in-one PC and my Product of the Week due to its simple design, adequate performance, and genuinely fantastic sound.