AI Holds the Key to Resilient Cities

Justina Nixon-Saintil

By Justina Nixon-Saintil

NEW YORK – The cities that some4.4 billion people call home are increasingly at risk of catastrophic climate-drivenevents.Rising sea levels and flooding threaten coastal megacitieslike New York City and Jakarta, and extreme heat waves, like those that afflict cities acrossSouth Asia and the Middle East each year,are projected to become more frequent and severe.

While our built environments and infrastructure are being tested by unpredictable weatherand changing populations, many urban communitiesare facing heightened climate-relatedhealth and economic risks.Dangers such asair pollutionand natural disasterscan be especially acute in developing countries, where they threaten to drive more people into poverty.

At the same time, cities contribute disproportionatelyto the broader challenges we face today. Cities alreadyaccount for an estimated 70%of global carbondioxide emissions and 78% of energy consumption, and these figures could grow in an urbanizing world. According to UN-Habitat, the share of people living in urban areas is expected to increaseto 68% by 2050.

Clearly, citieswill play a central role in how the world addresses climate change.Onefactor that could give cities much-needed support and unlock opportunities for building greater resilience isartificial intelligence.If developed and deployed responsibly and ethically,AI could potentially accelerate urbanclimate solutions, enable science-based and sustainable development, and deliver innovationat an unprecedented pace, allowing us to put the most vulnerable communities first.

But the first step is to improve ourunderstanding ofAI’s many potential applications as a tool for resilient cities. For example, the challenge of handling vast amounts of data is a major obstacle to modeling future climate scenarios accurately and making informed planning decisions. Fortunately, throughthe power of AI,foundation models and geospatial analytics couldhelp us visualizeour cities in a new way.

Consider the metropolitan areas facingsevere and changing weather patterns.With real-time and historical climate data and AI-powered predictive capabilities, governments couldintroduce new tools for disaster response and readiness. Everyone, from ordinary citizens to those tasked with protecting and maintaining critical infrastructure,could be better informed and prepared.

AI also has the potential to help make city operations more sustainable at every level, thus reducing cities’ outsize emissions and environmental impact. Intelligent software applications could integrate AI to analyzebuildings’ energy usage, water consumption,and waste management, providing insights thatallow communities and organizations to make more responsible decisions about sustainability.

Moreover, with the addition of connected devices to drive in-depth data collection,safetymeasures such as urban infrastructure maintenance could be moreeffective and efficient than ever before.Think of all the bridges and roadways threatened by unprecedented weather events. When combined with AI, the uses of data extend far beyond basic monitoring and reporting.

Nor will AI’s urban applications stop there. The technologyhas the potential to optimizepublic transportationand traffic planning to achieve more sustainable urban transit.It could help to identify the bestlocationsfor expandingmuch-needed greenspace, while alsopreservingurban biodiversity and natural resources.

Governments, public-serviceproviders, and nonprofits alike have growing opportunities to access and explore AI tools, such as throughrequests for proposals and pro-bono programs,like those offered by IBM. However, recent researchshows that while 69% of cities are already exploring or testing the uses of generative AI, only 2% are implementing it.As IBM’s Chief Impact Officer, I know that access to technology and the skills required to use it effectively can bemajor obstaclesto implementation. The need for greater access becomes all the more urgent when one considers the unequal distribution of climate-driven threats.Within our cities, problems like air pollution and a lack of access to clean energy disproportionately affect the poorest and most vulnerableresidents. These are the communities that have the most to gain from AI.

We all have a responsibility to makeAI solutions support vulnerable populations. That means providing equal access to climate tools, supporting training in AI and related skills, and creating programs designed to respond to the specific needs of historically marginalized urban populations.Upskilling, especially, will play a keyrole in accelerating vulnerable communities’ adoption of climate-mitigation and adaptationtools. The private sector can do its part by forming partnershipswith public agencies and working closely with organizations that are already engaged in supporting vulnerable communities.

By embracing AIand putting it to work in the fight against climate change, we can help make our cities safer, more adaptable, and more sustainable.The technology to give people the tools to anticipate, address, and recover from climate-driven events is here. But it is up to all of us – communities, governments, and companies – to put it to the best possible use.

Justina Nixon-Saintil is Vice President and Chief Impact Officer at IBM.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2024.

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