In June 2024, the IEEE Technology Center for Climate launched a new webinar series on sustainable Artificial Intelligence (AI). The “AI and Sustainability” webinar series is a continuation of our previous collaboration with Reuters Events on “Empowering the Green Tech Revolution.” The series explores how sustainable AI is essential to harness the benefits of technologies like generative AI while safeguarding our environment and finite resources.
The first Episode in the series took place on Thursday 27 June 2024 on “Tackling Sustainability Through the AI Lifecycle,” organized in collaboration with the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence’s (GPAI) RAISE project and supported by Centre d’expertise international de Montréal en Intelligence artificielle (CEIMIA). This webinar was moderated by IEEE President and CEO Tom Coughlin. It explored AI systems as enabling technologies that can offer solutions for climate-related challenges while also considering their own carbon footprint.
The second Episode 2 in the series took place on Thursday 27 September 2024 on “Factoring sustainability in building AI systems,” the event explored how sustainability considerations can be embedded in the design of AI systems. Panelists representing industry and policy makers addressed external factors to AI systems design, such as compliance requirements, which may limit the range of environmentally-friendly design options. Moreover, use cases illustrated some good practices.
The third Episode in the series took place on Thursday 21 November 2024 on “AI Risks and Opportunities for Biodiversity,” the event explored the relationship between AI and biodiversity through use cases illustrating the promises and risks of AI for biodiversity. The webinar was organized in collaboration with the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence’s (GPAI) RAISE project and supported by Centre d’expertise international de Montréal en Intelligence artificielle (CEIMIA). Panelists representing industry and policy makers addressed how organizations and governments need to take responsibility to protect natural resources and the environment while they move forward with deploying sustainable AI systems.
The fourth Episode in the series on “AI for Sustainable Food and Agriculture” will take place on Thursday 20 March 2025, in collaboration with the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence’s (GPAI) RAISE project and supported by Centre d’expertise international de Montréal en Intelligence artificielle (CEIMIA). This webinar will look into how food and agriculture is transitioning towards more sustainable models to respond to the impact of climate change, and will explore AI applications which can assist in sustainable agrifood systems, providing examples from industry and academia.