Humanity is at a pivotal moment. To avert the worst impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, society must transform away from our carbon-intensive and resource-depleting growth–at an unprecedented scale and pace.
In this course, Amy Luers, Senior Global Director for Sustainability Science and Innovation at Microsoft, explains how artificial intelligence can help achieve the scale and pace of changes needed to meet global sustainability targets like net zero emissions while protecting and restoring nature.
She outlines the opportunities and challenges of leveraging AI tools for accelerating sustainability progress, and what is needed to fully leverage their potential. Learn how AI can help reduce carbon emissions, expand access to renewable energy, reduce waste, and enhance the ability to protect biodiversity.
Plus, learn how to ensure that AI is responsibly developed and deployed so that it can empower every person and organization to accelerate their sustainability progress.
Introduction
- The promise of AI for sustainability
- What you should know
1. What Does AI Have to Do with Sustainability
- The intersections of AI and sustainability
2. AI Is a Critical Game-Changer for Sustainability
- Sustainability bottlenecks prevent global progress
- AI accelerates the development of sustainability solutions
- AI can help predict and optimize sustainability systems
- AI can help empower the world’s sustainability workforce
3. AI’s Impact on the Global Race to Net Zero
- The local vs. global challenges of AI resource use
- AI energy use—A local challenge
- Emissions implications of building and running AI models
- Indirect emissions implications of the use of AI tools
4. Ensuring That AI Has a Positive Impact on the Global Race to Net Zero
- The benefits of AI for sustainability are not guaranteed
- What’s needed to unlock AI’s potential for sustainability
