The Commonwealth Secretary-Normal, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, right this moment convened a high-level panel on the margins of the United Nations Convention on Local weather Change COP28 in Dubai on Leveraging Synthetic Intelligence for Local weather Motion and Youth Empowerment.
It was attended by representatives from Commonwealth member nations, worldwide organisations, ladies and youth teams, giant tech corporations, start-ups, and non-governmental organisations.
The partnership is a collaboration between the Commonwealth Secretariat, NVIDIA, UC Berkeley, and People.ai and is a part of the continuing implementation work of the Commonwealth Synthetic Intelligence Consortium (CAIC), launched in April 2023.
The CAIC goals to construct the home AI capability of small states and allow them to learn from world improvements from cloud computing to generative AI, strengthen the resilience of native infrastructure and provide chains, mitigate the impression of local weather change, upskill workforces, and advance financial development.
The collaboration was welcomed as a daring step in creating consciousness concerning the important intersection of youth engagement and local weather motion facilitated by AI know-how. Members additionally dedicated to constructing on new and current collaborations with the Commonwealth that empower younger individuals to develop digital expertise and leverage AI for local weather motion, notably in small states.
AI Consortium Partnership
Opening the occasion on the Commonwealth Pavilion, the Commonwealth Secretary-Normal mentioned:
“AI has the potential to rework our world for the higher, however provided that it is harnessed responsibly and ethically. Whereas we have fun the advantages of AI, we should even be cognizant of the digital divide that exists between and inside nations to undertake and harness this know-how throughout the complete AI ecosystem.
She continued:
“In all my engagements, I’ve knowledgeable those that AI is not only a technological spectacle; it’s a device that may allow us to sort out world challenges aggressively. As we convene right here, COP 28 is ongoing, and the problem of local weather change looms giant. AI can play a pivotal function in addressing local weather change, enhancing our potential to observe, mannequin, and mitigate its results. It’s a highly effective ally in our pursuit of the Sustainable Improvement Targets (SDGs) and a catalyst for financial development.”
In a keynote tackle, the Prime Minister of Tonga, Hon Siaosi Hu’akavameiliku, mentioned:
“As with all world pattern, there are dangers and challenges concerned. Small states of the Commonwealth have to be astute and strategic as we navigate this new area.
The digital divide between excessive and low-income member nations stays important, which could possibly be exacerbated by the rise of AI. We should due to this fact work collectively to effectively shut the information and expertise gaps.”
To underscore the important function of AI in local weather motion, know-how chief NVIDIA and geospatial firm Distant Sensing and Satellite tv for pc Hydrology (RSS-Hydro), demonstrated the moral and sensible use of AI purposes like ‘Omniverse’ devoted to monitoring and visualising the ocean degree rise in Tonga over time. From a macroeconomic perspective, such info is important for financial and infrastructure planning in all small states.
UC Berkeley additionally offered the Sensible Village Toolkit, powered by AI, in collaboration with People.ai. It demonstrated the usage of synthetic intelligence to enhance the livelihoods of rural villages and communities and supplies sensible alternatives for about 3.4 billion residents globally who stay in such areas.
In the course of the presentation, the Govt Director of Garwood Centre for Company Innovation and Head of the Faculty of Enterprise, UC Berkeley, Prof. Solomon Darwin, mentioned:
“Leveraging AI for local weather motion requires world consciousness and networks to generate social capital for restoring the declining steadiness sheet of the Earth. To additional this effort, our college students at Berkeley are working with the Commonwealth of Nations to develop an altruistic, non-commercial digital AI device that creates consciousness with no studying curve, shows an image ofour deteriorating planet at a look, is straightforward to know, lists the important thing belongings of the Earth that maintain life and promotes the well-being of the planet.”
Showcasing the Energy of AI Local weather Options
Audio system emphasised the necessity to leverage AI know-how and digitally empower youths in small states like Tonga to take knowledgeable motion and transfer in direction of a extra sustainable and climate-resilient future. Head of Local weather Change, Unnikrishnan Nair, Commonwealth Secretariat mentioned:
“AI’s transformative function in local weather motion, notably throughout the implementation of the Commonwealth Dwelling Lands Constitution, goes past being a device; it stands as a visionary idea accelerating our understanding, empowering focused interventions, and propelling us towards enhanced resilience for the well-being of our planet via sustainable land and biodiversity administration.”
Commenting on the problem of entry and engagement, the CEO and Founder at People.ai, Sabin Dima, additionally careworn the significance of giving a voice to susceptible teams by empowering them with progressive instruments that may present up to date info and supply options in real-time.
Equally, the youth consultant, Aman Vernekar, an engineering pupil, and President of the Cambridge Local weather Society, careworn the necessity to equip younger individuals with the fitting instruments to drive local weather motion, notably in a area like AI the place native context and information are important.
Members underlined the importance of additional collaboration with younger individuals within the ongoing work to realize a extra sustainable and climate-resilient future propelled by AI.
Watch the presentation on AI/ML: Omniverse for sea degree rise depiction for Tonga
For extra info, observe #CommonwealthForClimate or go to our COP28 hub.
Media contact
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Ijeoma Onyeator Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
