Econews

AI for Earth continues to reward environmentally committed ventures.

Do you know the AI for Earth project? If you didn't know about it, Microsoft created a program where it commits to invest 50 million dollars during 5 years in companies and ventures that are looking for solutions and improvements in the fight against climate change, that take care of the planet and improve the environment.

Microsoft is not only setting an example with its carbon footprint reduction plans, but wants more technology companies to commit and set an example in a sustainable and eco-friendly way.

In collaboration with the Basque Government, Microsoft organized a meeting with different organizations and professionals, who presented projects and ideas to improve the environment, always applying an artificial intelligence system. Of all the proposals presented, two new projects were added to the initiative, along with two that are currently under development.

What do Green Cyber Rating and Predicoa receive when they are selected? A funding grant, which includes training, technical advice and support from Microsoft experts. In addition to $15,000 for the use of the Microsoft Azure Cloud platform.

The Green Cyber Rating project seeks to develop a new method of measuring cyber threats in a standard and universal way, automatically predicting possible attacks, and calculating the effects in terms of environmental cruelty and climate costs.

When talking about cyber threats, people think of economic costs and data losses, without taking into account the risks they can lead to, such as toxic material spills, production failures or non-optimized CO2 emissions, among others.

"With Green Cyber Rating we want to offer a solution that allows companies to gain in environmental security and governments to increase their commitment to the planet," says Aitor Moreno Fernández de Leceta, head of the Artificial Intelligence Unit at Ibermática.

The Predicoa project focuses on the agricultural sector. It aims to develop a predictive model based on artificial intelligence, which estimates, at an early stage, the yield of the wheat crop at plot level, allowing to adjust the levels of nitrogen fertilizer, based on the needs of the crop.

This optimal fertilizer level will achieve the maximum crop yield in each plot without causing damage to the environment.

"The application of AI to the adjustment of nitrogen fertilization is a great opportunity to develop sustainable agricultural systems," says Ana Aizpurua, senior researcher at NEIKER-Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development.

Undoubtedly, both projects not only aim to improve the environment, avoiding not only future losses of financial resources and delays in production, but also future ecological disasters whose cost is much higher.

Microsoft's recognition will increase the value proposition and provide an incentive to all the professionals who have participated and contributed to shaping the project.

04 de Mayo, 2021