It's a shame the only way to work on problems like these (and make a decent living) is to make tools of war.
The end game of much of silicon valley seems to be government (read: military) contracts. Probably because its the main branch of government that's thoroughly funded
its also a branch of government that always need research so government contracts are plentiful
Defense also got silicon valley started. So it goes full circle.
I'm shooting from the depths of my memory, but I recall reading that one of the earliest government needs for computers was for the decennial census. At some point, it was requiring more than the 10 years to process the previous censuses (sp?) results.