BY ENU
Ketty Adoch a Ugandan innovator in the Agriculture sector
has been named among eleven innovators who have been nominated for the
Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Earth Innovation Awards.
Adoch, ageographical information systems specialist
agriculture works towards monitoring change detection for Land Cover Mapping
around the areas surrounding the Murchison Falls National Park.
Also on the list of grants is Torsten Bondo, a business
development manager and senior remote sensing engineer from Denmark who applies
AI to improve crop water efficiency in Uganda using machine learning.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Earth Innovation Awards
are organized by Microsoft and the National Geographic Society (NGS), to
provide funds to innovators for research on global environmental challenges in
the key focus areas of climate, agriculture, water and biodiversity
conservation.
The grants will be awarded to research teams and
organizations who are working across five continents to advance scientific
exploration and research on critical environmental challenges with the power of
Artificial Intelligence. Each recipient will be given access to Microsoft Azure
and AI tools and will be included in the National Geographic Explorer
community.
Microsoft Corp Chief Environmental Officer Lucas Joppa said,
“We believe AI can be a game-changer in our ability to address pressing
societal challenges and create a better future.
Perhaps now here is that potential greater than the continent
of Africa, where early adoption of AI tools in areas like agriculture or
conservation can yield environmental benefits as well as economic benefits from
better management of natural resources and upskilling of the workforce.
In the year since AI for Earth launched, we’ve supported
several individuals and organizations in Africa, as well as nearly a dozen
organizations that are leading field research across the continent.
The interest is there, the technical skills are growing and
we are looking forward to many more exceptional ideas from the next generation
of African innovators in the coming years.”
This partnership with NGS builds on Microsoft’s own US$ 50
million over 5 year AI for Earth program, which has awarded more than 180
grants and supports 8 organizations in larger projects since its inception a
year ago.
This year, both organizations are awarding US$1.2 million in
grants with each recipient having earned funds that range between US$ 45,000
and US$ 200,000.
onathan Baillie, the Executive Vice President and Chief
Scientist National Geographic Society said, “We’re incredibly excited about the
number and quality of projects from Africa using AI to solve environmental challenges
as part of our AI for Earth program.
“From my early days in the Peace Corps in Malawi to today,
I’ve had the opportunity to see and experience the abundance and diversity of
biodiversity and natural resources across the continent.
“So many of the world’s greatest environmental challenge and
largest datasets are available here – from sustainable agriculture to improving
species conservation, and from mitigating the impacts of climate change in
cities and rural areas to conserving and protecting water.
“Early adoption and use of AI to solve these problems, here,
with young innovators and entrepreneurs, will help every African country grow,
adapt and thrive in the future.”
The two organizations believe that the combination of human
ingenuity and AI can change the way that society monitors, models and manages
Earth’s natural systems.
The eleven 11 AI for Earth Innovation grant recipients are:
Ketty Adoch, Uganda, agriculture: Change Detection for Land
Cover mapping Around the Areas Surrounding the Murchison Falls National Park
Torsten Bondo, Denmark/Uganda, agriculture: AI4Water:
Improving Crop Water Efficiency in Uganda Using Machine Learning.Kelly Caylor,
US, water: Global Maps of Center Pivot Agriculture to Improve Estimates of Land
Use Change and Water Use
Joseph Cook, UK, climate change: AI at the Ends of the
Earth.Stephanie Dolrenry, US/Kenya, biodiversity: LINC- an AI-assisted
Collaborative Database for Lion Identification and Inter-Organizational
Research.Gretchen Daily,
US, water: Mapping of Small Dams and Reservoirs with
Earth Observation and AIAfrica Flores, Guatemala, water: Harmful Algal Bloom
Early Warning System.Solomon Hsiang, US/ Sweden, climate change: Understanding
the Effect of Climate Change on Human Migration in Africa Using 1.6 million
Historical Aerial Photographs
Holger Klinck, Germany/Panama, biodiversity: The New Buzz:
AI-Powered Acoustic Monitoring of Insect Communities to Advance Conservation of
Tropical Rainforests.Justin Kitzes, US, biodiversity: Developing the First Open
Source, Scalable Bird Song Classification Software.Heather J. Lynch, US,
biodiversity: Coupling AI with Predictive Modeling for Real-Time Tracking of
Antarctic Penguin Populations.
