Cambridge: AI might help us avoid "environmental catastrophe"

Redfern will serve as the head of Cambridge's Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Application of Artificial Intelligence to the study of Environmental Risks (AI4ER), which will share a total of $260 million in funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) with 15 other newly announced AI-focused CDTs. According to UKRI's funding announcement, AI4ER will focus on the development of "new methods to exploit AI's potential to analyse complex environmental data and thus help plan sustainable pathways to the future." UKRI cites climate change, a growing population, and shrinking biodiversity as a few of the risks the students will address with their studies. As for the specific types of projects Cambridge expects AI4ER students to undertake, the university notes several ongoing projects similar in scope, including ones focused on using AI to understand earthquake risk and monitor active volcanos. The answers to our greatest environmental problems could be hidden within the massive troves of data we can collect from the world around us.