AI and Planetary Impact: The Business of Saving the Planet. Insightful event today staged by John Hopkins University. How the rapid rise of AI technologies is influencing climate action, environmental sustainability, and wildlife conservation. Session included:
Kate Brandt – Chief Sustainability Officer at Google
Diego Saez Gil – CEO of Pachama
Malaika Vaz – National Geographic Explorer
Jerry Burgess – Director of the Environmental Science JHU
Scott Atkinson – Partner, Korn Ferry
My summary:
AI is, and will, transform environmental science. AI is helping identify polluted waterways, monitor carbon sequestration, forest conservation, climate modelling, predict wildfires but we need to ensure equitable access with environmental concerns baked in. Every industry is having the conversation of how AI will transform the field.
Impact
– AI could accelerate global emission reductions by 10% by enabling new solutions. AI is very powerful at (1) information, (2) optimisation and (3) prediction. e.g. commercial aviation represents 3% of global emissions. Using AI with satellite imagery to understand why contrails form in the atmosphere (those white trails you see in the sky), estimate we can reduce them by half by giving pilots instructions on small changes in elevations. That one area could reduce total global emissions by 1.5%.
– Deforestation one of main sources of emissions. AI can process petabytes of data with AI for new insights into state of land use change, impact on climate and drive funding to protect nature and sequester carbon. Use AI to inform decisions to fund reforestation and conservations efforts worldwide.
Ethics
– Important to foster democratisation of AI and power, but AI can be a concentrator of power. We need more Open source and Open access, of models, datasets and knowledge. Big tech competing at the application layer.
Equity
– Need to figure out equity and infuse capital into low income communities. Community leaders and indigenous heads are using AI; Bring AI to communities, rather than top down. Community and indigenous leaders need to be at the table contributing at every part of the process. Need to see more of this.
Consumption
– Data centres represent 1% of all global electricity use, by 2030 will account for 10% of electricity consumption. That comes with economic output and benefits. A need to manage AI’s environmental footprint – efficiencies.
-AI is empowering tool, lay people should use it. If you don’t use it, you may be left out of labour markets. On the energy consumption side, large tech companies may change energy matrix more towards renewals.
Communication
Solutions oriented journalism – need for optimism and hope. “Climate crisis” is a “Communication crisis”.
