Applying AI Towards A Better World: GDP, Jobs Growth & Less Pollution

The economic recession that follows as a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis and in particular the demise of certain sectors of the economy (physical retail, hospitality sector, etc) means that there will be greater pressure on politicians around the world to consider how to stimulate GPD growth in the post-pandemic world. However, there are also increasing pressures on politicians to combat the threat posed by Climate Change. Are the desired objectives of GDP and employment growth as well as reducing pollution at odds with each other? What if there is a pathway to GDP growth with the creation of new jobs and yet at the same time we are able to reduce emissions of Green House Gasses (GHGs)? A report entitled "How AI can enable a sustainable future" by PWC and commissioned by Microsoft (lead authors Celine Herweijer of PWC and Lucas Joppa of Microsoft) estimates that using AI for environmental applications across four sectors – agriculture, water, energy and transport. The report estimated that such applications could contribute up to $5.2 trillion USD to the global economy in 2030, a 4.4% increase relative to business as usual.