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Sources & Verification

Every figure on our By the Numbers page, its primary source, and its verification status. In June 2026 we independently re-checked each figure against its source; figures we could not substantiate were removed and are listed at the bottom for transparency. Spot an error? Email singularityintelligence4@gmail.com.

Last verified: June 2026

Healthcare

FigureClaimSourceStatus
250,000US deaths/yr attributed to medical errorMakary & Daniel, BMJ 2016Contested
$4.5TUS healthcare spending (2022)CMS NHE 2022Verified
$760-935BAnnual waste in US healthcareJAMA, Shrank et al. 2019Verified
$265B+Savings from admin simplificationJAMA, Sahni et al. 2021Verified
~$50BAI-in-healthcare market, 2026 forecastGrand View ResearchVendor forecast

Finance

FigureClaimSourceStatus
$7.5TDaily global FX trading (Apr 2022)BIS Triennial Survey 2022Verified
$485BGlobal fraud-scam & bank-fraud losses (2023)Nasdaq/Verafin 2024Verified (re-sourced)
$3.31BUS investment-fraud losses to FBI (2022)FBI IC3 2022Verified
$206BGlobal financial-crime compliance cost (2023)LexisNexis Risk 2023Verified (re-sourced)
~1.7%Investor return gap vs. funds ownedMorningstar Mind the Gap 2023Verified (was 2.4%)

Government

FigureClaimSourceStatus
$236BFederal improper payments (FY2023)GAO 2024Verified
$6.1TUS federal outlays (FY2023)US Treasury Fiscal DataVerified (was $6.3T)
$1.9TMedicare + Medicaid combined spendCMS NHE 2023Verified (was $1.8T)
~80%Federal IT budget spent operating existing systemsGAO-23-106821Verified (was “62% legacy”)

Energy

FigureClaimSourceStatus
$4.5TAnnual clean-energy investment needed (net-zero)IEA Net Zero Roadmap 2023Scenario
~75%Share of global GHG emissions from energyIEAVerified (was 73%)
+160%Data-center power-demand growth by 2030Goldman Sachs 2024Verified (was “3×”)
$1.8TGlobal clean-energy investment (2023)BloombergNEF 2024Verified (link fixed)

Education

FigureClaimSourceStatus
70%10-yr-olds in LMICs who can't read a simple textWorld Bank 2022Verified
~$7.6TGlobal education market (2024)HolonIQ 2024Verified (was $6T)
67%US 4th-graders below NAEP Proficient in readingNAEP 2022Verified (was 70%)
~$1.8TUS student debt outstandingFederal Reserve G.19Live series
~$927BTotal US K-12 expenditures (2020-21)NCES 2024Verified (was $404B)
+75%Lifetime earnings, bachelor's vs. HSGeorgetown CEW 2021Verified (was 4.4×)

Construction

FigureClaimSourceStatus
1 in 5US workplace fatalities in constructionOSHAVerified
~$13.6TGlobal construction market (2023)StatistaAggregate estimate
$177BCost of rework/bad data, US (2018)PlanGrid & FMI 2018Verified (re-sourced)
~88%Firms reporting difficulty filling craft rolesAGC 2023Verified (was 63%)

Food Waste

FigureClaimSourceStatus
1.05B tFood wasted globally (2022); 783M hungryUNEP 2024Verified (updated)
~$1TEconomic value of food lost & wastedUNFCCC / FAOVerified (link fixed)
8-10%Global GHG emissions from food loss/wasteUNEP 2021Verified
30-40%Share of US food supply wastedUSDAVerified (was 40%)
$325BValue of US food wasted (2024)ReFED 2025Verified

Fire Departments

FigureClaimSourceStatus
~1.4MFires reported/yr (~523K structure)NFPA Fire LossVerified (label fixed)
~$18BAnnual US fire property loss (2022)NFPA Fire Loss 2022Verified (was $21.9B)
~$54BUS local fire-protection spending (2019)NFPA FD ProfileVerified (was $31B)
96Firefighter on-duty deaths (2022)NFPA / USFA 2022Verified (was 136)
64%US fire departments all-volunteerNFPA FD ProfileVerified (was 58%)
$7.6-62.8BEstimated annual national wildfire costNIST 2017Verified (re-scoped)
~36MTotal fire-dept incidents/yrNFPA FD ProfileVerified (was 4.2M)

Police Departments

FigureClaimSourceStatus
~$115BState/local police protection spending (2017)BJS 2017Verified (link/date fixed)
~58%911 calls not about crime in progressVera InstituteVerified (re-sourced)
$3.2BMisconduct settlements, 10 yrs / 25 deptsWashington Post 2022Verified (not annual)
~18,000State/local law-enforcement agenciesBJS 2018Verified
~7.4MUS arrests/yr (2022)FBI Crime Data ExplorerVerified (was 10M+)

Homeless Shelters

FigureClaimSourceStatus
771,480People homeless on a single night (Jan 2024)HUD 2024 AHARVerified (updated)
152,585Chronically homeless individuals (2024)HUD 2024 AHARVerified (updated)
~56%Increase in unsheltered homelessness since 2015HUD AHAR (2015 & 2024)Verified (was 30%)

Dog Shelters

FigureClaimSourceStatus
5.8MDogs/cats entering shelters & rescues (2024)ASPCA 2024Verified
~607,000Animals euthanized/yr (2024)ASPCA 2024Verified
22%Adopted dogs returned in 3 mo (one shelter)Powell et al., Animals 2022Verified (was 23%/6mo, dead link)
~4,000+US animal sheltersShelter Animals Count 2025Verified (was 3,500)

Staffing Agencies

FigureClaimSourceStatus
$620BGlobal staffing market size (2024)Staffing Industry Analysts 2025Verified (date fixed)
$1.1TUS cost of inefficient transitions/skills gapsPearson 2025Verified (re-sourced; US)
~11MPeople employed via US staffing agencies (2024)American Staffing AssociationVerified
~7.5MUS job openings (recent monthly avg)BLS JOLTSLive series

High Schools

FigureClaimSourceStatus
4.3MYouth 16-24 not in school or work (2022)Measure of America 2024Verified (re-attributed)
~$16,280Per-pupil US public-school spending (2020-21)NCES 2024Verified (was $13,187)
~31%First-year undergrads taking remedial coursesNCES Table 311.40Verified (was 40%)
~26%US students chronically absent (2022-23)NCESAll grades
81% / 87%Grad rate: econ-disadvantaged vs. all (2021-22)NCES Table 219.46Verified (replaced 16% claim)
$300K+Lifetime premium, HS diploma vs. noneGeorgetown CEW 2021Verified
~3.7MUS high-school graduates/yrNCES Table 219.10Verified (was 3.8M)

Removed in the June 2026 audit

These figures were on an earlier version of the page. During verification we could not confirm them against a primary source (or the cited source did not support the stated figure), so we removed them rather than leave them up.

FigureClaimWhy removed
30%Clinical decisions made with incomplete informationNo primary source supports the figure as stated.
11 minPhysician time per visitCited the wrong study; US visit length is ~18-20 min.
80%Equity trading that is algorithmicNo citable primary source for the figure.
42%Execs citing data quality as top AI barrierNot found in the cited Deloitte source.
80%Government data “unstructured and unvalidated”Not a government-specific or sourced figure.
18 moPolicy-to-data lagNo source; cited link was dead.
$4.7BFederal AI investment (2024)Cited a homepage; figure unverifiable.
$270BUS grid-inefficiency lossesNot supported by any source located.
58%Utility execs citing AI reliabilityNot found in the cited Deloitte source.
40%Clean-energy projects with 3-5 yr permitting delayNot supported by the cited source.
31%Projects on time and on budgetFigure unverifiable against KPMG primary material.
13%Work hours lost to reworkNo traceable FMI source.
58%Food waste at retail/consumer stagesNot supported by the cited NRDC report.
$37BUS food-redistribution opportunityNot found at the cited source.
37%Officer time on admin tasksNo source; cited link was dead.
240%Increase in mental-health calls since 2010No source could be located.
$44,000Annual cost per person experiencing homelessnessNot supported by the cited source.
70%Homeless individuals with unmet mental-health needsSensitive claim not supported by the cited source.
$2.1BEmergency-shelter spendingNot reported in the cited HUD PIT source.
3×Higher return-to-homelessness without servicesNo confirmable source.
$2B+US animal-sheltering expenditureNot in the cited ASPCA source.
$1,200Shelter cost per animalNot in the cited source; conflicts with available data.
50%Euthanasia reduction with predictive placementDead link; no study supports the figure.
46%Placements turning over within 6 monthsNot found at the cited source.
$25,000Cost of a failed placementNo matching SHRM figure (cost-per-hire is ~$4,700).
72%Hiring managers saying AI improves placement speedNot found at the cited source.
16%Grad-rate gap by income quartileCited a race-based source; replaced with a sourced income figure.