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cover of episode Best of: Searching for climate solutions amid the AI hype

Best of: Searching for climate solutions amid the AI hype

2025/3/27
logo of podcast Zero: The Climate Race

Zero: The Climate Race
AI Deep Dive Transcript
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A
Akshat Rathi
P
Priya Donti
Topics
Akshat Rathi: 我关注AI在应对气候变化中的积极作用，以及如何负责任地引导AI的应用，避免其被用于增加排放和加剧人类苦难。Priya Donti的研究和Climate Change AI组织的工作，为利用AI解决气候问题提供了宝贵的经验和方向。 Priya Donti: AI可以分为基于规则的系统和机器学习两大类，机器学习包含监督学习、无监督学习和强化学习等多种方法。AI在气候变化领域的应用主要有两个原因：一是AI模型的能源成本；二是AI模型可以简化气候变化问题的解决和解决方案的部署。但AI也可能被用于加剧气候问题的应用中，因此需要谨慎。不同类型的AI模型的能源消耗存在差异，小型模型可以在笔记本电脑上运行，而大型模型则需要大量的计算能力和能源。AI可以帮助改进电网管理，提高可再生能源的预测精度和电网平衡能力。AI在气候领域的应用可以分为数据提炼和预测两类，前者例如利用卫星图像改进虾类养殖的可持续性，后者例如提高电力需求预测的准确性。结合气候模型和数据可以改进长期天气预报的准确性，这对于电网规划至关重要。2019年，AI和机器学习领域的人才希望参与气候行动，但缺乏途径；同时，气候变化领域的人才拥有大量数据，但缺乏利用这些数据的方法。因此，需要一个框架来指导AI在气候变化领域的应用。AI的应用需要考虑公平性和可持续性，避免加剧现有不平等。AI可以作为强大的工具加速气候变化相关应用，但在某些领域并非必不可少。AI的民主化应注重赋能更多人参与AI的开发，而非仅仅作为产品的使用者。解决数据不平等问题的方法包括结合现有数据和物理规则，以减少对大量数据的依赖。AI可以优化建筑物的能源效率，并与电网的能源供应相协调。AI可以加速发展中国家的气候解决方案创新。AI的应用既可能带来益处，也可能对气候造成负面影响，例如优化石油和天然气开采效率。AI伦理问题至关重要，需要更多努力来将伦理原则付诸实践并激励人们以符合伦理的方式进行AI研究。AI伦理应全面考虑，避免单一风险主导讨论，忽视其他重要伦理问题。提高人们对AI的认知和专业知识，对于促进负责任的AI应用至关重要。 supporting_evidences Akshat Rathi: 'If there's one person taking the lead on that question, it's MIT's Priya Danti...' Priya Donti: 'Yeah, so there isn't kind of one universally agreed upon definition for AI...' Priya Donti: 'And so we talk about AI in the climate context for two big reasons...' Priya Donti: 'So there's definitely a diversity in the types of AI that exist...' Priya Donti: 'So basically, as we start to integrate, you know, more and more renewables into power grids...' Priya Donti: 'So I think that there are a couple of categories of ways we can think about AI and machine learning being used for climate...' Priya Donti: 'Yeah, so I think this idea of kind of medium to long term forecasting is also really cool...' Priya Donti: 'Yeah, so I'd say back in 2019, we definitely saw a combination of a lot of people in the AI and machine learning space...' Priya Donti: 'Because there are lots of places where AI is not the right fit...' Priya Donti: 'So I think there are two things I'd like to unpack in there...' Priya Donti: 'But there are kind of additional ways to contend with this problem...' Priya Donti: 'In addition to sort of taking in data and producing insight...' Priya Donti: 'Yeah. So across the projects that we kind of are funding...' Priya Donti: 'Yeah, to me, I think that we obviously need to be thinking about both the resource use and the applications...' Priya Donti: 'So ethics is a really, really important part of the conversation...' Priya Donti: 'So when we talk about AI ethics, we historically have been talking about issues like...' Priya Donti: 'Really, there's a huge need to democratize literacy skills and expertise on AI...'

Deep Dive

Shownotes Transcript

Depending on who you ask, AI is either going to save the world or end it. The technology’s capacity for data-crunching and problem-saving can help predict weather events, making it easier to optimize power grids, prepare for natural disasters, and maximize crop output. But artificial intelligence is also energy intensive – and easy to apply to ethically questionable ends. For all of these reasons, Priya Donti, professor of electrical engineering and AI at MIT, decided to found Climate Change AI, a group dedicated to applying AI to tackle climate problems.  

In this episode, which first ran in May of 2024, Donti tells Akshat Rathi about some of the projects the group is funding around the world, and what the democratization of AI would look like in practice.  

Explore further:

Past episode about Microsoft’s rising AI emissions, and President Brad Smith’s claim that the AI will do more good than harm) Past episode with African Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina about climate innovation projects across the African continent) Past episode with climate scientist and  champion for developing countries Saleemul Huq)

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. This episode was produced by Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Anna Mazarakis and Alicia Clanton. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green).

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