Climate change is a big topic that keeps popping up, whether you want it to or not. However, it is an important topic that deserves all of our attention. A couple of degrees Celsius might not seem like much to us, but entire ecosystems can be affected, leading to the deaths of many species, hundreds of them. When one species becomes endangered, it also affects the other species which depend on it, whether for food, protection, or balance.
Artificial intelligence is another term that keeps popping up, so much so that everybody is fed up with it. AI in your phone, AI in your cameras, AI powering your search engine, AI doing this and that. How can AI help combat climate change? Here are a couple of ways.
More Efficient Electrical Energy Production
The problem with electrical energy, its production, and the devices that use electrical energy is that about 65% of that energy is wasted as heat. Yes, the efficiency of devices is a very problematic topic and that is why energy-efficient devices are in the limelight nowadays, from guitar amplifiers to kitchen stoves.
AI can help create more efficient energy. It can also help devices manage their energy consumption better. More efficiency means less energy is wasted in the atmosphere. This is a great way to combat climate change because electrical devices and electrical power are about 25% of all emissions.
Better Energy Management
Even though the production of energy is a good place to start, there are so many devices that use electrical energy. AI can be used to feed energy into the grid or use solar or wind energy whenever it is possible and more efficient. Renewable energy sources do not mean that they are good at all times. Having an efficient engine, for example, a hybrid engine, would not be efficient if it were to run on electric power all the time. Energy management through AI usage is the way to go, to determine when and where the energy should be spent and how. AI is great at determining data patterns and these patterns could help the environment.
Blackouts Are Bad
Reliable energy delivery is very important. The reason behind that is that every time that there is a blackout, even more energy is necessary to start the grid and all the devices connected to a grid. The same goes for cars and computers. Cycles of hot and cold, or rather, starting, stopping, turning on and off, are worse than a device continually running.
AI can help manage electrical grids and components, making sure that there are no blackouts, enabling steady electricity delivery, as efficiently as possible.
AI is the future, as much as we have come to roll our eyes at the word, and it can even combat climate change.
