Columbia University wants to use AI to fight global warming
Artificial Intelligence has many uses, from medical to gambling to weapons, but it is also used for environmental causes. While there are many ways to fight global warming, Columbia University has found an approach based on Artificial Intelligence.
You may be wondering how AI can play a role in such a scenario. AI, hurricanes, global warming, what is this story? It's actually quite simple: the key element here is the trees. Many trees cannot resist a hurricane, so the AI aims (with the help of NASA) to identify those which can stand upright in a storm. More precisely, the AI identifies the type of trees that are not uprooted and so that, in the future, we know which ones to plant. The objective is to have hurricane-resistant forests.
But what does this have to do with global warming? To simplify things, let's say that trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, so the more trees we have, the more CO2 is absorbed. It is therefore clear that trees uprooted by a hurricane have no environmental value, but maintaining standing forests has a clear advantage.
Global warming is a reality (although some still doubt it) and it is interesting to see that solutions are being sought, but there is still much to be done. The role that AI will play in this field is still unknown, but it could prove decisive in the coming years.
Do you think AI can solve environmental problems?
Source: Columbia University
