Announcing its plan to broaden the AI for Earth programme, Microsoft has pledged $50 million over the next five years to put artificial intelligence technology in the hands of those who are working to mitigate climate change. Microsoft rolled out the AI for Earth programme six months ago with an aim to put the power of artificial intelligence towards tackling environmental challenges. "At Microsoft, we believe artificial intelligence is a game changer. Our approach as a company is focused on democratising AI so its features and capabilities can be put to use by individuals and organisations around the world to improve real-world outcomes," Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith wrote in a blog post on Monday. The announcement came on the eve of the second anniversary of the Paris Agreement.

Microsoft has pledged USD 50 million towards expanding the AI for Earth project over the period of next five years. The company had made the announcement earlier this week at the two-year anniversary of the Paris climate accord. AI for Earth is a project with which Microsoft aims to provide solutions to some of the grave environmental problems which the world is facing today by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence. Microsoft had launched the project way back in July and had initially committed USD 2 million towards the project thereby making the recent announcement the second tranche of investment that the company is making towards the project. Through the AI for Earth project, Microsoft will provide access to its cloud services and AI computing resources to researchers and organisations who are working towards solving issues relating to water, agriculture and biodiversity.

Microsoft has pledged $50 million over the next five years to broaden its AI (artificial intelligence) for Earth program, the company announced. The program was announced in July to make AI accessible for researchers to solve environmental challenges. Microsoft will also provide universities and organisations with advanced training to put AI to its best use, Microsoft President Brad Smith said.