AI and Sustainability: Balancing Innovation with Planetary and Social Well-being
As technological innovation continues to transform our world, there is growing optimism about AI鈥檚 potential to contribute to sustainability and climate action. In engineering and urban planning sectors, AI is paving the way for more efficient resource management, optimized infrastructure design, and smarter city planning, all of which are essential for building sustainable and resilient communities.
However, alongside these hopes come significant concerns about the unintended consequences of rapid technological advancement. In this year鈥檚 keynote, Prof. Victor Galaz will challenge the prevalent notion that AI can be an unequivocal force for good in the face of climate and environmental crises. While AI has promising applications, its unchecked deployment could accelerate environmental degradation, create intensify inequalities, and exacerbate risks to our planet and its inhabitants.
Following the presentation,聽an expert panel will weigh the potential of AI for social good, against its possible pitfalls. Discussions will focus on harnessing AI鈥檚 promise for creating resilient, sustainable, and equitable futures while also considering the ethical and societal implications of its use.
Prof. Victor Galaz
聽Stockholm Resilience Centre
Victor Galaz is associate professor in political science at the Stockholm Resilience Centre , and programme director of the Beijer Institute鈥檚 Governance, Technology and Complexity programme. He is also co-Editor-in-Chief for the journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (COSUST), and was a Board Member of The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) between 2021-2023.
His research explores the political and governance challenges created by rapid global change, including globally networked risks, governance dimensions of 鈥減lanetary boundaries鈥�, the interplay between financial systems and Earth system dynamics, and the sustainability implications of novel technologies.
