From cakes against paintings to AI: how we achieve sustainability
Food against paintings is a practice to increase the debate on sustainability, but now there is news and AI will play the main role.
From cakes against paintings to AI: how we achieve sustainability
Food against paintings is a practice to increase the debate on sustainability, but now there is news and AI will play the main role.
From an unsustainable situation to sustainability goals
The world has changed.
Climate change, mass migration, reduction of biodiversity and social inequality are evidence of this.
It should be said, however, that the first alarm bells had begun to ring as early as the last century. Why did humanity decide to act today?
If we talk about actions, surely these images, that have been around the world, will come to mind.
We are talking about soup against “Sunflowers” by Van Gogh and the cream cake on Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”.
The most famous artists are the victims of the attacks that occurred in a massive way in 2022 by climate and environmental activists.
One question arises: how will hitting these paintings help other people think and act?
The activists’ goal is basically to create discomfort through which to generate debate. In short, by damaging masterpieces they intend to protest against government inaction.
Compared to previous years, we are all familiar with the current situation, probably because we are going through very worrying scenarios. We are experiencing the damages of climate change on our skin today and every day.
Today, the will to change is global. This is evidenced by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. They were defined in 2015 by the United Nations and finally endorsed by the 150 member countries.
The 17 goals are divided in turn into 169 sub-objectives. For simplicity and clarity, we will briefly present them according to their focus area: economic, social and environmental.
|
Source: United Nations |
Social goals
They include the goals of fighting poverty and hunger, providing quality education and achieving gender equality. Also in this area we find the assurance and sustainable management of water, access to sustainable energy and urban sustainability.
Economic goals
They contain: economic growth and decent work, industry innovation, reducing gaps between and within nations and ensuring sustainable patterns of production and consumption.
Environmental goals
Here we see the fight against climate change, preservation of the oceans and marine resources and the protection of the earth’s ecosystem.
These are very specific goals that can safeguard and advance the planet in a better way.
Social will would not be transformed into action if we did not have two elements to make the current development model more efficient. These are data and computational capacity.
Why AI will play a key role
The huge amounts of data generated in the past decades and the development of digital computing capability are the cornerstones of Artificial Intelligence. It enables us to analyze, understand and improve most human activities.
For years, Artificial Intelligence has become the main topic of any aspect referring to global technological evolution.
News about the goals achieved by AI is on the agenda. It is being used in the area of security through the reduction of waiting times at airports thanks to facial recognition. Another application is related to analyzing the performance of athletes in sports, by analyzing their movements. It is also very useful in optimizing the shopping experience in physical stores, monitoring their path to purchase.
There is a strong awareness of the socio-economic impact of AI especially and finally by governments as well. World leaders have begun to draft and publish documents, strategies for the development and application of Artificial Intelligence with the goal of regulating it. It is, indeed, regarded as the key turning point of the future.
Thus, the will of all countries to gain a dominant position in the field of AI emerges.
In general, it is clear that technologies are not good or bad. In fact, it is its use that makes a difference. Thus, if Artificial Intelligence is used ethically, it can be a valuable tool in achieving many sustainable goals.
AI, in fact, can make a real contribution to sustainable development with systems that can measure initial conditions, optimize available resources, provide support to analyze the impacts of strategies and suggest innovative solutions.
The purpose is to avoid further compromising the balance of our planet. It is the only one we have, the one we share with 8 billion other human beings and many other living species.
Now more than ever, we need to adopt a sustainable development model and AI is a great ally. In this sense, it is necessary to put the planet and not just humans at the center of the paradigm and use technologies to support its development.
There are the conditions to make primary a new paradigm in which data and technologies are used for ecological transition.
We must learn to use political will, social responsibility, capital and AI to move on. Building a sustainable future is possible, but people also play an important role. They are crucial to the construction and development of cities.
How AI will enable the achievement of sustainability goals
Artificial intelligence has excellent analytical and predictive capabilities. Due to these characteristics, it will therefore be useful in achieving the sustainability goals set for 2030.
So how will AI systems be implemented? Let’s get to know them according to the type of goals.
Social goals
AI will help optimize resources. It will improve the efficiency with which energy is produced from renewable sources and optimize energy consumption even more.
In detail, to achieve the No poverty goal, AI can help us to:
- Measure poverty using data from satellites or apps on smartphones,
- Prevent impacts on vulnerable segments of the population,
- Support policymakers in decision-making processes.
It will be possible to meet Gender equality goal in the following ways:
- Developing bias detection algorithms to contribute to studies on gender stereotypes and increase their awareness in the population,
- Developing hate speech recognition systems to counter gender-based violence.
Economic goals
In this field, AI is able to support companies in minimizing waste and recycling inventories. It also plays a very important role in monitoring the workers, from their physical condition to the proper use of protective equipment, reducing accidents at work.
Regarding the Decent work and economic growth goal, AI will be useful in:
- Reducing the workload for bureaucratic aspects by focusing workers on more satisfying tasks,
- Assisting workers with continuing education tools,
- Suggesting optimization of business processes,
- Relieving repetitive or heavy tasks with robots (software and hardware).
To achieve Industry, innovation and infrastructure goal AI will be adopted to:
- Support to define the life cycle of a product or service,
- Help define the costs of a product and service in terms of its environmental impact,
- Realize predictive maintenance systems, containing maintenance costs and disasters.
Environmental goals
Climate change already has significant impacts in many sectors around the world. Actions to limit global warming and its effects are therefore critical.
Precisely, for Life below water goal AI will be used to:
- Suggest non-destructive fishing tools,
- Eliminate pollutants and substances that cannot be recycled,
- Create robots to monitor the seas and help clean the sea (e.g., from plastic).
Regarding Life on land goal, AI will enable to:
- Monitor the situation of forests, fires and biodiversity,
- Prevent poaching and criminal behavior toward the environment
- Optimize consumption by focusing on a circular economy. [1]
Artificial intelligence will be decisive in solving the climate crisis, making society more inclusive and workplaces greener and safer.
We are facing a challenge that could change the destiny of our planet and future generations forever. This affects everyone.
Will the 17 goals approved by the United Nations be successfully achieved?
References:
-
- L’intelligenza artificiale per lo sviluppo sostenibile. Online version: https://www.cnr.it/sites/default/files/public/media/attivita/editoria/VOLUME%20FULL%2014%20digital%20LIGHT.pdf
© Copyright 2012 – 2023 | All Rights Reserved
Author: Niccolò Cacciotti, Head of AI Department
From an unsustainable situation to sustainability goals
The world has changed.
Climate change, mass migration, reduction of biodiversity and social inequality are evidence of this.
It should be said, however, that the first alarm bells had begun to ring as early as the last century. Why did humanity decide to act today?
If we talk about actions, surely these images, that have been around the world, will come to mind.
We are talking about soup against “Sunflowers” by Van Gogh and the cream cake on Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”.
The most famous artists are the victims of the attacks that occurred in a massive way in 2022 by climate and environmental activists.
One question arises: how will hitting these paintings help other people think and act?
The activists’ goal is basically to create discomfort through which to generate debate. In short, by damaging masterpieces they intend to protest against government inaction.
Compared to previous years, we are all familiar with the current situation, probably because we are going through very worrying scenarios. We are experiencing the damages of climate change on our skin today and every day.
Today, the will to change is global. This is evidenced by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. They were defined in 2015 by the United Nations and finally endorsed by the 150 member countries.
The 17 goals are divided in turn into 169 sub-objectives. For simplicity and clarity, we will briefly present them according to their focus area: economic, social and environmental.
|
Source: United Nations |
Social goals
They include the goals of fighting poverty and hunger, providing quality education and achieving gender equality. Also in this area we find the assurance and sustainable management of water, access to sustainable energy and urban sustainability.
Economic goals
They contain: economic growth and decent work, industry innovation, reducing gaps between and within nations and ensuring sustainable patterns of production and consumption.
Environmental goals
Here we see the fight against climate change, preservation of the oceans and marine resources and the protection of the earth’s ecosystem.
These are very specific goals that can safeguard and advance the planet in a better way.
Social will would not be transformed into action if we did not have two elements to make the current development model more efficient. These are data and computational capacity.
Why AI will play a key role
The huge amounts of data generated in the past decades and the development of digital computing capability are the cornerstones of Artificial Intelligence. It enables us to analyze, understand and improve most human activities.
For years, Artificial Intelligence has become the main topic of any aspect referring to global technological evolution.
News about the goals achieved by AI is on the agenda. It is being used in the area of security through the reduction of waiting times at airports thanks to facial recognition. Another application is related to analyzing the performance of athletes in sports, by analyzing their movements. It is also very useful in optimizing the shopping experience in physical stores, monitoring their path to purchase.
There is a strong awareness of the socio-economic impact of AI especially and finally by governments as well. World leaders have begun to draft and publish documents, strategies for the development and application of Artificial Intelligence with the goal of regulating it. It is, indeed, regarded as the key turning point of the future.
Thus, the will of all countries to gain a dominant position in the field of AI emerges.
In general, it is clear that technologies are not good or bad. In fact, it is its use that makes a difference. Thus, if Artificial Intelligence is used ethically, it can be a valuable tool in achieving many sustainable goals.
AI, in fact, can make a real contribution to sustainable development with systems that can measure initial conditions, optimize available resources, provide support to analyze the impacts of strategies and suggest innovative solutions.
The purpose is to avoid further compromising the balance of our planet. It is the only one we have, the one we share with 8 billion other human beings and many other living species.
Now more than ever, we need to adopt a sustainable development model and AI is a great ally. In this sense, it is necessary to put the planet and not just humans at the center of the paradigm and use technologies to support its development.
There are the conditions to make primary a new paradigm in which data and technologies are used for ecological transition.
We must learn to use political will, social responsibility, capital and AI to move on. Building a sustainable future is possible, but people also play an important role. They are crucial to the construction and development of cities.
How AI will enable the achievement of sustainability goals
Artificial intelligence has excellent analytical and predictive capabilities. Due to these characteristics, it will therefore be useful in achieving the sustainability goals set for 2030.
So how will AI systems be implemented? Let’s get to know them according to the type of goals.
Social goals
AI will help optimize resources. It will improve the efficiency with which energy is produced from renewable sources and optimize energy consumption even more.
In detail, to achieve the No poverty goal, AI can help us to:
- Measure poverty using data from satellites or apps on smartphones,
- Prevent impacts on vulnerable segments of the population,
- Support policymakers in decision-making processes.
It will be possible to meet Gender equality goal in the following ways:
- Developing bias detection algorithms to contribute to studies on gender stereotypes and increase their awareness in the population,
- Developing hate speech recognition systems to counter gender-based violence.
Economic goals
In this field, AI is able to support companies in minimizing waste and recycling inventories. It also plays a very important role in monitoring the workers, from their physical condition to the proper use of protective equipment, reducing accidents at work.
Regarding the Decent work and economic growth goal, AI will be useful in:
- Reducing the workload for bureaucratic aspects by focusing workers on more satisfying tasks,
- Assisting workers with continuing education tools,
- Suggesting optimization of business processes,
- Relieving repetitive or heavy tasks with robots (software and hardware).
To achieve Industry, innovation and infrastructure goal AI will be adopted to:
- Support to define the life cycle of a product or service,
- Help define the costs of a product and service in terms of its environmental impact,
- Realize predictive maintenance systems, containing maintenance costs and disasters.
Environmental goals
Climate change already has significant impacts in many sectors around the world. Actions to limit global warming and its effects are therefore critical.
Precisely, for Life below water goal AI will be used to:
- Suggest non-destructive fishing tools,
- Eliminate pollutants and substances that cannot be recycled,
- Create robots to monitor the seas and help clean the sea (e.g., from plastic).
Regarding Life on land goal, AI will enable to:
- Monitor the situation of forests, fires and biodiversity,
- Prevent poaching and criminal behavior toward the environment
- Optimize consumption by focusing on a circular economy. [1]
Artificial intelligence will be decisive in solving the climate crisis, making society more inclusive and workplaces greener and safer.
We are facing a challenge that could change the destiny of our planet and future generations forever. This affects everyone.
Will the 17 goals approved by the United Nations be successfully achieved?
References:
-
- L’intelligenza artificiale per lo sviluppo sostenibile. Online version: https://www.cnr.it/sites/default/files/public/media/attivita/editoria/VOLUME%20FULL%2014%20digital%20LIGHT.pdf
© Copyright 2012 – 2023 | All Rights Reserved
Author: Niccolò Cacciotti, Head of AI Department