TITLE:

Choice 1 = AI-CLIMATE: Curbing Climate Change with AI and Nature
Choice 2 = AI-CLIMATE: Curbing Climate Change with AI and Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry
Choice 3 = AI-CLIMATE: National AI Research Institute for Climate-Land Interactions, Mitigation, Adaptation, Tradeoffs and Economy

PRESENTER:

Shashi Shekhar : Biography ( 100 words, 400 words ), Picture ( 1 , 2 )

AFFILIATION:

Computer Science and Engineering Department, University of Minnesota.

Webpages:

official , personal , wikipedia entry

VIDEOS:

SLIDES:

ABSTRACT:

AI-CLIMATE (AI Institute for Climate-Land Interactions, Mitigation, Adaptation, Tradeoffs and Economy) aims to advance artificial intelligence (AI) by incorporating laws of nature and leveraging new nature-informed AI methods to curb climate effects while lifting rural economies. By creating a new scientific discipline and innovation ecosystem intersecting AI and climate-smart agriculture and forestry, it plans to discover and invent compelling AI-powered knowledge and solutions. Examples include specialized field-to-market decision support tools and AI-powered estimation methods of soil organic carbon, emissions, and moisture. A key goal is to lower the cost of and improve accounting for carbon in farms and forests to empower carbon markets and inform decision-making. The Institute will also expand and diversify rural and urban AI workforces.

AI-CLIMATE is a joint effort currently involving the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (lead), Colorado State University, Cornell University, Delaware State University, North Carolina State University, and Purdue University.

The AI-CLIMATE is one of 7 National AI Research Institutes (NAIRIs) announced on May 4th, 2023 under the federal responsible AI initiative. These Institutes aim to catalyze collaborative efforts across institutions of higher education, federal agencies, industry, and others to pursue transformative AI advances that are ethical, trustworthy, responsible, and serve the public good. Also, they bolster AI R&D infrastructure and support the development of a diverse AI workforce. They will drive breakthroughs in critical areas, including climate, agriculture, energy, etc.

KEYWORDS:

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: This work is supported by AFRI Competitive Grant No. 2023-67021-39829 / Project No. MINW-2023-03616 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture as well as the National AI Research Institute program of the National Science Foundation.

RESOURCES

  1. AI-CLIMATE project website
  2. AI-CLIMATE Institute: Curbing Climate Change with Artificial Intelligence , Soundbyte Magazine, Computer Science and Engineering Department, University of Minnesota, Oct. 2023.(z.umn.edu/Soundbyte2023)
  3. Looking back, looking ahead: Strategic initiatives in AI and NSF's AI Institutes Program, James Donlon, and Ashok Goel, AAAI Magazine, 07 August 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/aaai.12107
  4. U of M looks to use AI to create more climate-safe farming practices, KARE11, May 16th, 2023.
  5. University of Minnesota to lead new $20M AI Institute focusing on climate-smart agriculture and forestry, , College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, May 4th, 2023. Republished on AAAS EurekAlert 8-May-2023,Fox 9 on May-4-2023, etc.
  6. Liu, L., Zhou, W., Guan, K. et al. , Knowledge-guided machine learning can improve carbon cycle quantification in agroecosystems . Nat Commun 15, 357 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43860-5 ( UMN CSE News Article, Feb. 21st, 2024. ).
  7. Shabtai, I.A., Wilhelm, R.C., Schweizer, S.A. et al. Calcium promotes persistent soil organic matter by altering microbial transformation of plant litter . Nat Commun 14, 6609 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42291-6
  8. Collaborative Geodesign and Spatial Optimization for Fragment-Free Land Allocation, Y. Xie, B. Runck, S. Shekhar, L. Kne, D. Mulla, N. Jordan, and P. Wringa, ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2017, 6(7), 226; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi6070226.
  9. Computing and Climate, J. H. Faghmous, V. Kumar and S. Shekhar, in IEEE/APA Computing in Science \& Engineering (Guest editors introduction to the special issue on Computing and Climate), vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 6-8, Nov.-Dec. 2015, doi: 10.1109/MCSE.2015.114.
  10. Jens Malmodin et al. ICT sector electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions – 2020 outcome, Telecommunications Policy, 2024, 102701, ISSN 0308-5961, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2023.102701
  11. Related Webpage: Transforming Agriculture Via Intelligent Infrastructure
  12. Related Webpage: Computing at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water