A company in China reportedly used giant 3-D printers to make 10 houses in one day . This leads to two obvious questions . First , how big were those printers ? The answer is : 10 meters wide by 6.6 meters high . A mixture of cement and construction waste were sprayed to build the walls layer by layer . And second , if 3-D printers could be used to create a neighborhood of full-sized , detached single family homes in less time and money than it would conventionally take , could 3-D printers help end homelessness ? I 'm not Pollyanna-ish when it comes to ending poverty . Many of the world 's problems stem from decades of government policies that fostered inequality and neglect , dynamics that can not be easily fixed by one solution . At the same time , I 'm completely obsessed with 3-D printers , probably because I do n't fully understand them , so they seem like magic sent to us from the future by Captain Picard . If these printers can make even a dent in some of the world 's most pressing challenges , they would be even cooler in my book . So , what major social and economic problems might we potentially print our way out of ? Here are some possibilities . Hunger . At South by Southwest this year , I got to eat candy that came out of a printer , courtesy of the folks at Deloitte . Last fall , writer A.J . Jacobs documented in The New York Times an entire meal he and his wife ate that was produced by 3-D printers , including pizza , pasta and dessert . While Jacobs needed the help of several companies and their Ph.D. staff to produce his meal , on Kickstarter , one startup tried to get funding for the `` Foodini : '' a 3-D food printer for home chefs . For now , the technology is too expensive , and like many trends the exploration is happening more in high-end settings ( 3-D printed caviar , anyone ? ) . But as the costs come down and the technology improves , could there be a 3-D printer making nutritious food in every village around the globe ? Perhaps . Homelessness . It 's quite a feat for the Chinese company to build 10 homes in one day , but they 're not the only innovators . Earlier this year , Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis at the University of Southern California built a giant 3-D printer that can produce a basic house in one day . And in Amsterdam , construction has begun on what appears to be the first multistory -- and aesthetically pleasing -- 3-D printed house . Of course , homelessness is far more complex than simply a lack of housing . But the ability to create `` affordable housing '' even more affordably would not only help homeless people but also low-income individuals . Disease . I understand stem cells even less than I understand 3-D printing , so I 'm not going to say much here except to note that scientists are experimenting with what seems to be impossible but apparently is n't : printing human organs . CNN.com reported on how bioprinters use an `` ink '' of stem cells to print 3-D shapes that can be placed into the human body , where hopefully the cells will be accepted by the existing tissues . Bioprinting has a lot of potential . In 2013 , a little girl born without a windpipe got one thanks to a 3-D printer that rendered one out of the girl 's own stem cells . A foundation has created a $ 1 million prize to be awarded to whomever comes up with the first 3-D printed functioning liver , which would be a big deal to the 17,000 Americans waiting for liver transplants — and a huge sign of hope to millions of people worldwide with all kinds of organ needs because of diseases and conditions . Pollution . There are many causes of climate change , one of which is pollution from industrial production . 3-D printing offers many promising alternatives to more traditionally wasteful and dirty manufacturing methods . Rather than having to throw out entire products when one piece needs replacing ( `` planned obsolescence '' ) , 3-D printing will make it easier to replace parts . Even complex products can be produced and assembled locally rather than shipped from across the continent , which would reduce the carbon footprint . ( The raw materials will need to be shipped , but they take up less room . ) Money . Printing money is as illegal in three dimensions as it is in two . And while 3-D printing may never eliminate the need for money , it may change the demand for it . Think about how the Internet reduced the cost of information or how Spotify has reduced the cost of music . Or how cell phones are prevalent all over the world . Imagine years into the future when 3-D printers are just as affordable and available as cell phones . Communities could meet their basic needs -- not just for food but everyday items -- with far less money . Imagine a 3-D printer making plates and cups and toothbrushes and hammers and nails and much more for entire communities , to be shared or bartered for rather than purchased with cash . And for goods that are bought and sold , 3-D printing could maybe reduce costs without affecting production wages ( I 'm looking at you , Wal-Mart ) . The possibilities are so exciting that the World Bank has considered the implications of 3-D printing for reducing poverty and sharing prosperity . Let 's hope 3-D printing will truly be as revolutionary as we hope .
A company in China reportedly used 3-D printers to make 3-D houses in Last fall . Kohn : 3-D printers have potential to address problems like hunger , pollution . She says scientists are even experimenting with printing human tissues , organs . Sally Kohn : Millions worldwide can benefit from Millions printed houses or foods .