Microsoft has announced its new AI for Earth program, aiming « to solve global environmental challenges by increasing access to AI tools and educational opportunities, while accelerating innovation. »
Last year, Microsoft announced the formation of a new Artificial Intelligence and Research Group, with over 5,000 computer scientists. At the time, the company said it intended to « build the world’s most powerful AI supercomputer with Azure and make it available to anyone, to enable people and organizations to harness its power ».
Today, Microsoft revealed a new initiative to use its AI and machine learning capabilities in « solving some of the biggest environmental challenges of our time ».
« The scale and speed of the changes we see in our physical and natural world require new solutions, » Microsoft said today . « But the latest innovative technologies often come with a price tag and require computational expertise that puts them out of reach for many researchers and nongovernmental organizations. »
Microsoft AI for Earth aims to provide AI tools and technologies to researchers and organizations, to help them understand and solve « important issues related to water, agriculture, biodiversity and climate change. »
The program will include offering access to cloud and AI resources, along with training, and partnership on ‘ lighthouse projects ‘. Three such projects are already in action: « one enabling land cover mapping to aid precision conservation; another that will enable smart agriculture through sensors, drones, data and broadband connectivity; and another that will test the viability of using our smart mosquito traps to remotely track and monitor species health. »
Just over a year ago, Microsoft’s Dave Coplin described AI as « the most important technology that anybody on the planet is working on today. » If Microsoft succeeds in helping to « create a more sustainable future » for the planet – a key goal of its AI for Earth program – he may well be proved right.
Source: Microsoft
