IBM (NYSE: IBM) has unveiled new initiatives leveraging its geospatial AI technologies, including the collaborative development with NASA of IBM’s geospatial foundation model, to address climate challenges. These efforts encompass analyzing urban heat islands in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), promoting reforestation in Kenya, and enhancing climate resiliency in the United Kingdom (UK).
The advancement of IBM’s AI model strategy includes the creation, training, fine-tuning, and open-sourcing of foundation models designed for various tasks beyond natural language processing, particularly in geospatial applications. These models, trained on vast amounts of geospatial data like satellite images, offer a unique opportunity to combat climate change by enabling accelerated discovery of environmental insights and solutions.
In the UAE, IBM and the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) are pioneering the use of foundation models to study urban heat islands, areas with significantly higher temperatures than their surroundings. By employing a fine-tuned version of IBM’s geospatial foundation model, the research aims to understand the urban environment in Abu Dhabi and its correlation with the formation of urban heat islands, resulting in a notable reduction of heat island effects.
In Kenya, IBM has partnered with the Kenyan government to support the National Tree Growing and Restoration Campaign through an innovative “adopt-a-water-tower” initiative. This collaboration utilizes a digital platform powered by IBM’s geospatial foundation model to track tree planting activities in critical water tower areas, facilitating forest restoration efforts and promoting water sustainability.
Furthermore, in the UK, IBM, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and Royal HaskoningDHV are working together to automate climate risk assessment processes for organizations, with a focus on the aviation sector. By leveraging IBM’s geospatial AI tools, this collaboration aims to assess the short and long-term impacts of extreme weather and climate change on aviation operations, as well as to map urban locations suitable for tree planting to mitigate surface water flooding risks.
IBM’s collaboration with NASA extends to the development of a new AI foundation model for weather and climate applications, aiming to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of weather forecasting and climate-related analyses. These efforts underscore IBM’s commitment to environmental sustainability, building on its long-standing history of environmental advocacy and initiatives.
To learn more about IBM’s participation at COP28, visit: IBM at COP28
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