To help solve global problems, look to developing countries | Bright Simons

Summary

The speaker, an 'ideas activist' from the Global South, champions innovative solutions that tackle pressing issues like counterfeit medicines, low-quality seeds, doping in sports, and ineffective vaccines. These solutions, which include unique codes and digital certifications, are saving lives and improving societies in places like Egypt, Kenya, India, and Ghana. Despite their effectiveness, these ideas often don't scale globally due to 'mental latitude imperialism.' The speaker calls for 'intellectual justice' to ensure the best ideas, regardless of their origin, are utilized to solve global problems.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The speaker is an ideas activist, advocating for the recognition and implementation of ideas from the Global South regardless of geographical bias.
• 💡 The Global South is often overlooked for its potential to generate innovative solutions, being mistakenly viewed as merely a recipient of 'hand-me-down' ideas.
• 🛑 The speaker introduces the term 'mental latitude imperialism' to describe the phenomenon where ideas from certain regions are undervalued due to their geographical origin.
• 💊 In Egypt, a partnership with a pharmaceutical company has implemented unique codes on medicine packaging to combat counterfeit drugs, protecting consumers like Rizwan.
• 🌱 In Kenya, the digitization of seed certification has been implemented to ensure farmers like Ole Lenku receive high-quality seeds, crucial for their livelihood.
• 🏃‍♀️ In India, technology is used to ensure athletes like Ambika can safely consume products without risking failed doping tests, emphasizing the importance of ingredient transparency.
• 💉 In Ghana, the speaker's home country, innovative markers on vaccine vials have been developed to indicate proper storage conditions, ensuring the effectiveness of vaccines for children.
• 🔗 The speaker emphasizes that social trust and interpersonal trust are distinct, and that the division between consumption and regulation is outdated in an interconnected world.
• 🔄 Decentralized autonomy is not as critical as reinforcing social accountability feedback loops, which are essential for trust in systems.
• 🌐 The problems and solutions discussed are not confined to the Global South; they are universal issues that affect global markets and institutions, such as food labeling and counterfeit products.
• 📢 The speaker calls for intellectual justice, advocating for the global recognition and application of the best ideas from all parts of the world, regardless of their origin.

Q & A

What does the term 'ideas activist' refer to in the context of the script?

An 'ideas activist' is someone who advocates for and promotes ideas they believe in, ensuring these ideas have the opportunity to be recognized and implemented, regardless of their origin or the geographical location they were born.

Why does the speaker describe the 'Global South' or 'developing world' as the 'poor world'?

The speaker uses the term 'poor world' to highlight the economic disparities and challenges faced by these regions, which are often recipients of outdated or second-hand ideas and solutions from wealthier nations.

What is the issue with counterfeit medicines in Egypt mentioned in the script?

In Egypt, there is a growing epidemic of counterfeit medicines, which account for 12 percent of all medicines sold. This poses a serious threat to public health, as these fake medicines can be ineffective or even harmful.

How does the speaker's team combat counterfeit medicines in Egypt?

The team, in partnership with the largest pharmaceutical company in Africa, has implemented a system of unique codes on each pack of heart medicine. These codes act as one-time passwords that consumers can verify through a toll-free short code, ensuring the authenticity of the medicine.

What is the problem with seed quality in Eastern and Southern Africa as described in the script?

A significant issue is that 40 percent of all seeds sold in these regions are of questionable quality or outright fake, which can lead to poor harvests and economic loss for farmers.

How has the speaker's team addressed the seed quality issue in Kenya?

They have digitized the entire certification process for seeds in Kenya, allowing farmers like Ole Lenku to verify the authenticity and certification of seeds through a code on the packet, ensuring they are getting genuine, high-quality seeds.

Why is the authenticity of ingredients important for an athlete like Ambika?

For athletes like Ambika, consuming ingredients that could accidentally cause a positive doping test can end their sports career. The speaker's team has developed an ingredients rating technology to help ensure the safety and authenticity of what athletes consume.

What is the challenge with vaccine storage and how is it addressed in the script?

Vaccines are sensitive and need to be stored between two and eight degrees Celsius to maintain their potency. The speaker's team has developed a system using computer vision to convert markers on vaccine vials into temperature indicators, allowing nurses to verify proper storage and effectiveness before administration.

What is the concept of 'mental latitude imperialism' mentioned by the speaker?

'Mental latitude imperialism' refers to the bias or prejudice that prevents ideas originating from certain geographical locations, particularly the Global South, from being recognized and scaled globally, due to the perceived inferiority or irrelevance of these ideas.

Why does the speaker argue for the cause of 'intellectual justice'?

The speaker argues for 'intellectual justice' because they believe that the best solutions to global problems require the best ideas, which should not be limited by geographical biases. By advocating for intellectual justice, the speaker aims to ensure that all ideas are considered and scaled based on their merit, not their origin.

How does the script illustrate the global relevance of problems initially perceived as local?

The script uses examples such as counterfeit medicines, fake food products, and issues in the aeronautical supply chain to show that problems of trust in markets and institutions are not confined to any one region but are universal, affecting even developed nations like the US and Europe.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Global Solutions to Counterfeit Issues

The speaker identifies as an 'ideas activist' advocating for underrepresented ideas from 'the Global South' or 'developing world', which are often overlooked due to their geographical origin. The paragraph focuses on innovative solutions to counterfeit problems in various countries. In Egypt, unique codes on heart medicine packs help consumers verify authenticity. In Kenya, the certification process for seeds has been digitized to ensure quality. In India, technology safeguards athletes from accidental doping by verifying the ingredients in their supplements. Lastly, in Ghana, vaccine vial markers serve as thermometers to ensure proper storage and potency of vaccines. These solutions exemplify the abundance of ideas in regions often considered poor in innovation.

05:01

🌐 The Global Relevance of Intellectual Justice

This paragraph delves into the broader implications of the solutions presented in the first paragraph, emphasizing the importance of intellectual justice and the global nature of trust in markets and institutions. The speaker argues against the concept of 'mental latitude imperialism', where ideas from certain regions are not scaled due to their geographical origin. Examples of counterfeit issues in the US and Europe, such as mislabeled seafood and contaminated meat patties, illustrate that trust breakdown is a universal problem. The speaker calls for the recognition and scaling of solutions from the Global South, as they are often more advanced and cost-effective, and concludes with a call to action for intellectual justice to ensure globally inclusive problem-solving.

Keywords

💡Ideas Activist

An ideas activist is someone who fights for the recognition and implementation of innovative ideas, regardless of their origin. In the video, the speaker identifies as an ideas activist, emphasizing the importance of promoting ideas from all parts of the world, including the Global South.

💡Global South

The Global South refers to regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, which are often considered less economically developed. The speaker, originating from this part of the world, highlights how it is often overlooked for its innovative ideas despite being rich in creativity and problem-solving potential.

💡Counterfeit Medicines

Counterfeit medicines are fake or unauthorized replicas of legitimate drugs. The video discusses the problem of counterfeit heart medicine in Egypt, where fake medicines pose significant health risks. The speaker's team addresses this by using unique codes on medicine packs to verify their authenticity.

💡Digital Certification

Digital certification involves verifying the authenticity of a product or service using digital technologies. In Kenya, the speaker's team has digitized the certification process for seeds, ensuring farmers like Ole Lenku can trust the quality of their agricultural inputs.

💡Ingredients Rating Technology

This technology assesses and rates the ingredients in products to ensure they meet safety and quality standards. In India, it helps athletes like Ambika avoid ingesting substances that could fail doping tests, thereby protecting their sports careers.

💡Under-vaccination

Under-vaccination refers to insufficient vaccine coverage in a population, often due to poor-quality vaccines. In Ghana, the speaker's team uses computer vision technology to ensure vaccines are stored correctly and maintain their efficacy, thus protecting children's health.

💡Social Trust

Social trust is the general trust people have in institutions and systems within society. The speaker argues that enhancing social trust through reliable verification systems is crucial for addressing global issues like counterfeit goods and ensuring public confidence.

💡Mental Latitude Imperialism

This term describes the bias against ideas from certain parts of the world, limiting their recognition and scalability. The speaker asserts that this bias prevents innovative solutions from the Global South from gaining global traction, despite their potential benefits.

💡Intellectual Justice

Intellectual justice refers to the fair recognition and utilization of ideas from all parts of the world. The speaker advocates for this cause, arguing that the best solutions to global problems require incorporating diverse ideas from the Global South.

💡Social Accountability Feedback Loops

These are mechanisms that ensure public institutions and systems remain accountable to the people they serve. The speaker emphasizes their importance over decentralized autonomy, arguing that feedback loops help maintain trust and effectiveness in addressing issues like counterfeit products.

Highlights

The speaker is an 'ideas activist', advocating for the recognition and implementation of ideas from the 'Global South'.

The 'Global South' is often a receptacle for second-hand ideas, but it is also a rich source of innovative solutions.

In Egypt, a partnership with a pharmaceutical company has implemented unique codes on medicine to combat counterfeit drugs.

Rizwan, from Egypt, can verify the authenticity of his heart medicine using a toll-free short code.

In Kenya, the speaker's team has digitized the certification process for seeds to ensure quality and authenticity.

Ole Lenku, a Kenyan farmer, can now verify the quality of seeds using a digital certificate.

In India, technology is used to prevent athletes like Ambika from accidentally ingesting banned substances.

Vaccine storage issues in Ghana are addressed with a marker system that indicates proper temperature maintenance.

The speaker argues that 'social trust' is distinct from 'interpersonal trust' and is crucial for societal functioning.

The division between consumption and regulation is no longer viable in an interdependent world.

Decentralized autonomy is less important than reinforcing social accountability feedback loops.

The speaker introduces the concept of 'mental latitude imperialism', where ideas from certain regions are not scaled globally due to their geographical origin.

Examples of trust breakdown in markets and institutions are not limited to the Global South but are global issues.

In the US, a quarter of seafood is falsely labeled, indicating a global problem of trust in food markets.

The speaker calls for intellectual justice, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and scaling the best ideas from all parts of the world.

The speaker points out that verification models for pharmaceuticals in the US and Europe are a decade behind Nigeria's.

The concept of 'intellectual justice' is proposed as a new cause to ensure the global scaling of effective solutions.

Transcripts

I am an ideas activist.

That means I fight for ideas I believe in

to have their place in the sun,

regardless of which side of the equator they were born.

As well I should.

I myself am from that part of the world

often euphemistically referred to as either "the Global South"

or "the developing world."

But let's be blunt about it:

when we say those words, what we really mean is the poor world --

those corners of the world with ready-made containers

for the hand-me-down ideas of other places and other people.

But I'm here to depart a little bit from the script

and to try and convince you

that these places are actually alive and bubbling with ideas.

My real issue is: Where do I even start?

So maybe Egypt, Alexandria,

where we meet Rizwan.

When he walks outside his souk,

walks into a pharmacy for heart medicine

that can prevent the blood in his arteries from clotting,

he confronts the fact that,

despite a growing epidemic

that currently accounts for 82 percent of all deaths in Egypt,

it is the medicines that can address these conditions

that counterfeiters, ever the evil geniuses they are,

have decided to target.

Counterfeiters making knockoff medicines.

Luckily for Rizwan,

my team and I,

working in partnership with the largest pharmaceutical company in Africa,

have placed unique codes -- think of them like one-time passwords --

on each pack of the best-selling heart medicine in Egypt.

So when Rizwan buys heart medicine,

he can key in these one-time passwords

to a toll-free short code

that we've set up on all the telecom companies in Egypt

for free.

He gets a message -- call it the message of life --

which reassures him

that this medicine is not one of the 12 percent of all medicines in Egypt

that are counterfeits.

From the gorgeous banks of the Nile,

we glide into the beautiful Rift Valley of Kenya.

In Narok Town, we meet Ole Lenku, salt-of-the-earth fellow.

When he walks into an agrodealer's shop,

all he wants is certified and proper cabbage seeds

that, if he were to plant them,

will yield a harvest rich enough

that he can pay for the school fees of his children.

That's all he wants.

Unfortunately,

by the reckoning of most international organizations,

40 percent of all the seeds sold in Eastern and Southern Africa

are of questionable quality,

sometimes outrightly fake.

Luckily for Ole,

once again, our team has been at work,

and, working with the leading agriculture regulator in Kenya,

we've digitized the entire certification process

for seeds in that country,

every seed -- millet, sorghum, maize --

such that when Ole Lenku keys in a code on a packet of millet,

he's able to retrieve a digital certificate

that assures him that the seed is properly certified.

From Kenya, we head to Noida in India,

where the irrepressible Ambika

is holding on very fast to her dream of becoming an elite athlete,

safe in the knowledge that

because of our ingredients rating technology,

she's not going to ingest something accidentally,

which will mess up her doping tests

and kick her out of the sports she loves.

Finally, we alight in Ghana,

my own home country,

where another problem needs addressing --

the problem of under-vaccination or poor-quality vaccination.

You see, when you put some vaccines into the bloodstream of an infant,

you are giving them a lifetime insurance

against dangerous diseases that can cripple them or kill them.

Sometimes, this is for a lifetime.

The problem is that vaccines are delicate organisms really,

and they need to be stored between two degrees and eight degrees.

And if you don't do that, they lose their potency,

and they no longer confer the immunity

the child deserves.

Working with computer vision scientists,

we've converted simple markers on the vials of vaccines

into what you might regard as crude thermometers.

So then, these patterns change slowly over time in response to temperature

until they leave a distinct pattern on the surface of the vaccine,

such that a nurse, with a scan of the phone,

can detect if the vaccine was stored properly in the right temperature

and therefore is still good for use

before administering this to the child --

literally securing the next generation.

These are some of the solutions at work saving lives, redeeming societies,

in these parts of the world.

But I would remind you

that there are powerful ideas behind them,

and I'll recap a few.

One, that social trust is not the same as interpersonal trust.

Two, that the division between consumption and regulation

in an increasingly interdependent world

is no longer viable.

And three, that decentralized autonomy,

regardless of what our blockchain enthusiasts in the West --

whom I respect a lot -- say,

are not as important as reinforcing social accountability feedback loops.

These are some of the ideas.

Now, every time I go somewhere and I give this speech

and I make these comments and I provide these examples,

people say, "If these ideas are so damn brilliant,

why aren't they everywhere?

I've never heard of them."

I want to assure you,

the reason why you have not heard of these ideas

is exactly the point I made in the beginning.

And that is that there are parts of the world

whose good ideas simply don't scale

because of the latitude on which they were born.

I call that "mental latitude imperialism."

(Laughter)

That really is the reason.

But you may counter and say, "Well, maybe it's an important problem,

but it's sort of an obscure problem in parts of the world.

Why do you want to globalize such problems?

I mean, they are better local."

What if, in response, I told you

that actually, underlying each of these problems that I've described

is a fundamental issue of the breakdown of trust

in markets and institutions,

and that there's nothing more global, more universal, closer to you and I

than the problem of trust.

For example, a quarter of all the seafood marketed in the US is falsely labeled.

So when you buy a tuna or salmon sandwich in Manhattan,

you are eating something that could be banned for being toxic in Japan.

Literally.

Most of you have heard of a time when horsemeat was masquerading as beef

in burger patties in Europe?

You have.

What you don't know is that a good chunk of these fake meat patties

were also contaminated with cadmium, which can damage your kidneys.

This was Europe.

Many of you are aware of plane crashes and you worry about plane crashes,

because every now and then, one of them intrudes into your consciousness.

But I bet you don't know

that a single investigation uncovered one million counterfeit incidents

in the aeronautical supply chain in the US.

So this is a global problem, full stop.

It's a global problem.

The only reason we are not addressing it with the urgency it deserves

is that the best solutions,

the most advanced solutions, the most progressive solutions,

are, unfortunately, in parts of the world where solutions don't scale.

And that is why it is not surprising

that attempts to create this same verification models for pharmaceuticals

are now a decade behind in the USA and Europe,

while it's already available in Nigeria.

A decade, and costing a hundred times more.

And that is why, when you walk into a Walgreens in New York,

you cannot check the source of your medicine,

but you can in Maiduguri in Northern Nigeria.

That is the reality.

(Applause)

That is the reality.

(Applause)

So we go back to the issue of ideas.

Remember, solutions are merely packaged ideas,

so it is the ideas that are most important.

In a world where we marginalize the ideas of the Global South,

we cannot create globally inclusive problem-solving models.

Now, you might say, "Well, that's bad,

but in such a world where we have so many other problems,

do we need another cause?"

I say yes, we need another cause.

Actually, that cause will surprise you: the cause of intellectual justice.

You say, "What? Intellectual justice? In a world of human rights abuses?"

And I explain this way:

all the solutions to the other problems that affect us and confront us

need solutions.

So you need the best ideas to address them.

And that is why today I ask you,

can we all give it one time for intellectual justice?

(Applause)