From climate change to landfill, AI promises to solve Earth’s big environmental problems
Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionised our lives in myriad ways, from personalising our media sosial feeds to giving us driving directions and pantauan our health.
In recent years, hopes have grown that AI may also help humanity tackle global environmental problems such as climate change.
AI involves using computers to make them think like humans. It can solve complex problems and process huge amounts of data.
But the technology brings with it a host of environmental costs. Here, we weigh up the pros and cons.
AI systems can kontrol and optimise energy use. For example, AI-powered "smart grids" monitor and manage electricity generation to meet the permintaan of consumers, which can both lower energy costs and allow for more efficient energy use.
AI can also help streamline the energy used by big commercial and industrial systems. Tech giant Google, for instance, used AI to cut the amount of energy required to cool its data centres by 40%.Waste manajemen systems driven by AI may help increase recycling rates. In the United Kingdom, for example, recycling company Recycleye uses AI to identify materials for sorting, lowering contamination rates and increasing recycling volumes - and so, reducing pressure on landfill.
And AI-powered "smart cities" technologies help make publik transport systems work more smoothly, which can reduce congestion and minimise vehicle emissions.
Artificial intelligence can also be deployed to improve air quality in cities. IBM, for example, uses the technology to analyse weather and air pollution data from sensors and satellites. This can help authorities pinpoint pollution sources, make air quality forecasts and issue health alerts.
AI-powered smart machines, robots and sensors are already used in agriculture.
They can provide real-time pantauan of weather, soil conditions and crop needs, leading to better water use and ensuring crops receive only what they need.
The technology can also identify pests, reducing the need to spray chemical pesticides on crops.
As climate change worsens, there are hopes AI can help farmers avoid reduced crop yields and become more resilient.
