In a previous blog, I talked about artificial intelligence and related ethical issues. Now, it’s time to focus on its positive impacts on the environment.

Let’s face it. We’re dealing with an unprecedented challenge: Climate change. Although there are plenty of ways people can reduce their carbon footprint, we don’t have superpowers. And wouldn’t it be ideal if we were in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where we would simply call upon the Avengers to save it? But don’t fret, as in the real world, we have our superhero: Artificial Intelligence (AI).

But how can AI help tackle climate change?! While it may lack Thor’s hammer or Captain America’s shield, AI has got some amazing tricks that can help us save the Earth. 

1. Energy Efficiency Intelligence

One area where climate change and artificial intelligence intersect is energy efficiency. How so? AI can peek into your daily habits, learn your quirks, and then adjust your energy usage, saving your wallet and the planet.

A good example of using AI for energy efficiency is DeepMind AI by Google. Several geniuses came up with the idea of allowing AI to handle their data centre. AI optimised their cooling systems and slashed their energy consumption, thus bringing down carbon emissions.

That said, AI models from Google such as Gemini, require significant computational power supplied by data centres. As AI usage increases, the reliance on these energy-intensive data centres grows, resulting in higher electricity consumption. The surge in energy consumption by data centres has significantly driven greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, like Google’s, which has grown by 48% over the past five years.

To combat this, Google has undertaken several measures. One of them is building efficient infrastructure for AI, featuring the Trillium TPU, its sixth-generation Tensor Processing Unit. Trillium is over 67% more energy-efficient than its predecessor, TPU v5e, significantly reducing the energy needed for AI operations. Yet, Google is not the only one addressing this problem. An EU-based partnership is looking into placing data centers into space to zip their carbon burden. That’s what I call a big move!

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2. Fighting Waste Without Wasting Time

Navigating waste management almost feels like going through your old yearbook - full of things you’d rather forget. Thankfully, AI has enabled us to convert these landfill pages into less trashy outcomes and more success stories.

For instance, CleanRobotics sifts through piles of junk and pluck out recyclables faster than you can say: “reduce, reuse, recycle"! These tools are way quicker and more precise than manual labour, thus enhancing the efficiency of recycling.

3. The Real Version Of Paw Patrol

Did you know species are disappearing at a rate up to 10,000 times faster than the historical norm?

We can all agree that this is quite alarming. In comes artificial intelligence, an environmental conservation police who doesn’t take lunch breaks or sleep. This tech ensures wildlife conservation and monitoring through drones and camera traps. 

These tools can perform various functions, such as identifying species, estimating populations, and detecting illegal activities such as poaching. AI technology gives us a digital paw  by providing real-time information about endangered species and their habitats to an environmental protection network. This enables quicker responses to threats and better-informed conservation strategies.

4. A Recipe For (Avoiding) Disaster

With global warming, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense. That’s why effective disaster management is vital. This comes in three phases: preparation, response, and recovery.

Imagine AI as that nerdy friend who’s always crunching numbers and suggesting survival tips. In particular, in the preparation phase, specific tools like Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) and Bidirectional LSTM (BiLSTM) process tons of data  and predict risks like floods and alien invasions (okay, maybe not alien invasions). 

Once disaster strikes, AI tools can sift through standard and social media analytics to identify urgent needs, distress calls, and other relevant information. This reduces response time and speeds up rescue operations.

During recovery, AI-enabled systems can analyse drone images quickly and precisely. They will identify damaged structures, map out affected areas, and establish routes that can be used to move around such regions. 

5. An All-Weather Smart Friend 

Artificial intelligence is a champion when it comes to weather forecasting. It analyses vast amounts of data about weather patterns, GHGemissions, and environmental changes, helping policymakers develop strategies to reduce climate chaos.

For instance, IBM’s new geospatial foundation model helps predicting patterns and ensuring we make informed and impactful decisions that keep our planet in check.

In addition to this, our high-tech friends can predict where wildfires might start and how they'll spread. What does this mean for us? We can spot fires early, plan evacuations, and deploy firefighting resources more effectively. It even helps with long-term strategies to reduce fire risks. 

6. A Wind Of AI-Blown Change 

Another way artificial intelligence steps in the climate change struggle is the development of renewable energy sources like wind.

Just to name one, GE Renewable Energy uses AI to boost the performance of their wind turbines. The turbines have been equipped with sensors and AI algorithms that predict wind changes, adjusting their operation and ensuring they catch every breeze and turn it into electricity. They also use AI-driven maintenance schedules to identify issues and fix them. This prevents downtime, cuts down maintenance, and boosts efficiency. 

7. Diving Into An Ocean Of Opportunities 

It’s no secret that our oceans are in trouble. From acidification to coral bleaching to plastic pollution, our marine buddies are feeling the heat. Fortunately, environmental conservation organisations are tapping into AI-powered Autonomous Underwater Vehicles to keep an eye on and protect marine life.

These robots dive deep into the ocean and record what’s happening there. They will take quality pictures and gather information about the marine environment. These underwater detectives are so powerful that they can even spot a tiny change in coral reefs. Early detection is important as it allows wildlife conservation groups to take action before it’s too late.

8. Planting The Smart Seed Of Sustainable Agriculture 

Besides apps to reduce food waste, climate tech can also improve agricultural practices. Farmers have started using sensors that collect data such as soil moisture, nutrient levels, temperature, and crops’ health. AI systems digest these numbers into a digital compost for farmers, enabling them to have a clearer picture of what’s going on in their fields.

Basically, AI works as a farm consultant who advises farmers on how and when to water their crops, the right time for harvesting, etc. They can also detect early signs of pests and diseases, allowing growers to act faster for preventing produce loss.

Conclusions

So, can AI solve climate change? Although relying on power-greedy data centres, AI is like the Avengers for environmental sustainability. Whether sorting out trash, greening our energy or avoiding climate disasters, artificial intelligence could help us save ourselves (yep, the Earth doesn't need to be saved).