Australia’s governmental research arm — the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) — is looking to artificial intelligence to help solve some of the big systemic problems facing the nation. Fueled by a need to invest in science in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CSIRO plans to invest in data modeling and AI through an initiative it calls ‘Team Australia.’ The initiative aims to accelerate recovery, create new jobs, and stimulate the economy as the nation grapples with the repercussions of the pandemic. “While COVID-19 will undoubtedly continue to disrupt, Australia will come together through this crisis and build a strong future in the process,” CSIRO Chief Executive Dr. Larry Marshall said this week. “We are calling for partners to join this Team Australia approach to solving what seem like unsolvable problems.”
The government is investing $100-million to set up the following ‘missions’ under CSIRO:
- Increase resilience & preparedness against pandemics;
- Mitigate the impact of disasters: drought, bushfires, and floods
- Create a hydrogen industry to generate a new clean energy export industry;
- Accelerate the transition to agile manufacturing for higher revenue and sovereign supply;
- Overcome the growing resistance to antibiotics, so they keep saving lives;
- Create a national climate capability to navigate climate change uncertainty;
- Help farmers overcome drought, mitigate climate impacts, increase yield and profitability, create a sustainable Future Protein Industry and leverage the world’s love of Australian-grown food to collectively drive our trusted agriculture and food exports to $100 billion;
- Use technology to navigate Australia’s transition to net-zero emissions, without derailing our economy;
- Safeguard the health of waterways by monitoring the quality of our water resources from space;
- Create new industries that transform raw mineral commodities into unique higher-value products like critical energy metals that build Australia’s value-added offering, jobs, and sovereign supply;
- End plastic waste by reinventing the way plastic is made, processed, and recycled;
- Double the number of small and medium businesses (SMEs) benefitting from Australian science to become a collaboration nation.
An example of how the funds will be applied to solve environmental problems through AI is seen in CSIRO’s partnership with Microsoft. The US-based tech behemoth is implementing machine learning and applying camera sensor technologies to ‘waste traps’ located in Australia. The waste traps are designed to stop trash from entering storm drains. AI can assist in identifying materials that would pollute waterways and oceans. “By using AI to accelerate the detection and classification of rubbish in our waterways, we can simply react more quickly and work to improve the quality of water faster than if done manually,” Microsoft Australia CTO Lee Hickin told ZD Net.
In addition to partnering with the technology industry, CSIRO is looking to develop partnerships with academia to solve problems. Karen Andrews, the Australian Minister for Industry, Science, and Technology, believes the research community can also help propel the nation forward and together with CSIRO is calling for research proposals. One area that is of particular interest is using advanced technologies to develop responses to wildfires and climate change. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO released its bi-annual State of the Climate report this week, which highlights the vital need to address elevating temperatures, and raised fire danger. The report projects that temperatures will accelerate further in the immediate future, sea level will rise, there will less rainfall in Australia, and greater frequency of tropical cyclones.
It is no surprise then that the Australian government is looking to AI to tackle the repercussions of climate change and offer assistance to farmers. “Australia is increasingly vulnerable to drought and the impacts of changing climate conditions,” the government said in documents asking for proposals. “Whilst Australian farmers have traditionally become highly skilled at managing climate variability, the magnitude, intensity, and frequency of drought and extreme climate events is an unprecedented challenge that requires additional support.”
It is hoped that AI and other emerging technologies will soon be available to farmers on the front lines of the environmental-change fight. The Australian Council of Learned Academics (ACOLA) and National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) partnered on The Future of Agriculture Technologies report in September 2020. That publication pointed to data, AI, robotics, and IoT as fundamental to maximizing agricultural yield, supply chain optimization, and rapid testing of localized crops.
Artificial Intelligence is being implemented in industries all over the world and is a central theme of the research undertaken at UCIPT. Our work in the HOPE study is using data to assess and shift behavioral outcomes among HIV and other populations.