Used in many products nowadays, you probably already integrated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will continue to ease your day-to-day life and improve firms’ performances. From driverless cars to personalize suggestions to prepare your groceries bag, an effortless life-style seems on its way. But what if we zoom-out, can AI benefit all humanity?
This blog post will inform you on AI’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The SDGs comprise a set of 17 goals aim to end poverty and hunger, improve health and education, protect the planet and its fauna-flora, and ensure prosperity for all. The countries of the United Nation General Assembly (193) adopted the goals on September 25th 2015 and are called into action to reach each goal’s specific targets by 2030.
In a Global Summit, organized by ITU and XPRIZE held in Geneva in June 2017, government representatives, industries leaders, AI experts and civil society gathered to discuss AI-solutions to address those specific global challenges and concluded that AI is a ‘major accelerator’ to the achievement of those goals.
Consider SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Dealing with this issue involves, among other, the need for smarter crop production methods. Drones imagery, sensor data, machine learning and predictive analytics can optimize farm management by providing real-time data about the conditions of the crops and its environment and by empowering farmers with decision support tools. This “precision farming” approach helps optimize crop yields and crop disease treatment. All and all this will result in better food quality and quantity.
Similarly, a “precision medicine” will can doctors to better diagnostic and follow up patients, but also predictive analytics can help prevent diseases in the first place. AI also promises new cost- and time-effective approaches to drug discovery, securing SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
If you were already aware of AI potential in those previous area, how about AI for SDG 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies? Not only AI could help preventing global cyber threats but also monitor electoral vote and increases government transparency with the use of open data.
It is thrilling to envision all the positive impact AI can have on a global scale, after all we are all concerned. I believe it each of us’ duty to use our knowledge for good. If you are more curious, I suggest you to watch this 3-minutes video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpuoj1Op1kY or to consult ITU’s report.
ITU (2017), AI for social good: how artificial intelligence can boost social development, [Online] Available from: http://www.itu.int/en/itunews/Documents/2017/2017-01/2017_ITUNews01-en.pdf
ITU (2017), AI for good global summit, [Online] Available from: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/AI/Pages/201706-default.aspx
Greenbiz (2017), What artificial intelligence means for sustainability, [Online] Available from: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/what-artificial-intelligence-means-sustainability
UN (2017), Artificial Intelligence – a quantum leap for sustainable development. [Online] Available from: http://www.unric.org/en/latest-un-buzz/30586-artificial-intelligence-a-quantum-leap-for-sustainable-development
Hi Diane, thank you for your blog on the SDG’s! It is yet another small step to get them the attention they need to be achieved. A few weeks ago I attented the RSM Leadership Summit, during which the SDG’s were also discussed. The discussion then was mainly about the still quite unknown goals and what the role of big corporates should be in achieving them.
Especially your comment about higher quality food to end poverty and hunger struck a cord with me. During a speech by the DSM CEO I was again shocked by the numbers of childeren dying everyday due to hunger and more specifically, food that is either low quality or to carb heavy. It even went so far as that leaders didn’t appreciate the food sent to their countries/villages. “At least before people just died” was a statement that was made. Now, people weren’t dying, but they still got sick from the food and were unable to work, only costing the community more money.
This example shows that the food produced in the Western world is not suitable to always help malnutricion. I think AI can indeed be a powerfool tool to target the specific needs when it comes to nutricion and provide people with the solutions that they need to on the longterm battle this extreme problem.