The challenge will select new ideas leveraging advanced computing in the cloud, including generative AI, to help solve some of the biggest challenges in the fight against climate change
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 – The International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI), an organization under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), data science platform Zindi, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) today announced the launch of the AI for Equity Challenge: Climate Action, Gender, & Health, a six-month global virtual contest to support researchers, non-profits, and startups applying advanced cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) to create new solutions that address gender and healthy equity issues exacerbated by the climate crisis.
The AI for Equity Challenge, hosted on the Zindi platform, aligns with the Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative’s (ASDI) mission to accelerate sustainability research, innovation, and collaboration by minimizing the cost and time required to acquire and analyze large sustainability datasets. ASDI works with sustainability-focused government agencies to host, and deploy key datasets on the AWS Cloud, including weather observations and forecasts, climate projection data, satellite imagery, hydrological data, air quality data, and ocean forecast data.
The hackathon, which is a social coding competition, will focus on building new programing that supports equitable futures at the intersection of gender, health and climate action, targeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 5 (Gender Equality), and 13 (Climate Action).
Participants will use data made available through ASDI, with a preference towards building on AWS AI services and infrastructure, to develop solutions. The hackathon will be officially launched during the 2024 UN General Assembly and the UN’s Summit of the Future in New York City, coinciding with Climate Week NYC.
“As artificial intelligence rapidly evolves, it is crucial that we harness its potential to address real-world challenges,” said Davor Orlic, COO at IRCAI. “At IRCAI, our mission is to guide the ethical development of AI technologies, ensuring they serve the greater good and are inclusive of marginalized AI communities. This hackathon, in collaboration with AWS and Zindi, is an opportunity to discover and support the most innovative minds that are using AI and advanced computing to create impactful solutions for the climate crisis.”
A steering committee made up of members of NAIXUS, a network of AI and sustainable development research organizations, being convened through IRCAI will select proposals that demonstrate the most innovative use of advanced AI technologies, and the biggest promise for global impact on health and gender equity, and climate action.
The hackathon’s objectives will focus on driving awareness and use of existing ASDI datasets for new sustainability-focused research and innovation, connecting regional and global AI communities on sustainability issues, and amplifying real-world solutions that enable decision-making and action, not just talk. Throughout the competition, global climate researchers, nonprofits, and tech startups will leverage technical resources based on their needs, including high-performance computing (HPC), cloud compute, AI, generative AI, and machine learning (ML) services. Selected teams will receive expert guidance in AI sustainability and responsible AI, along with AWS credits to build their solutions.
“Climate change is undeniably one of the greatest challenges of our time, and we believe that innovation is key to overcoming it,” said Dave Levy, Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector, AWS. “Through this hackathon, we invite innovators to bring forward their most visionary ideas, and we’ll support them with resources—whether it’s computing power or advanced cloud technologies —to help turn those ideas into reality. Our goal is to help drive innovation that supports sustainability solutions through the cloud and make a tangible impact on the climate crisis.”
The hackathon will proceed in phases, with the first round of technical proposal submissions closing on November 4, 2024. Applications for the AI for Equity Challenge: Climate Action, Gender, & Health are now open. For more details on hackathon applications and eligibility, visit: https://zindi.africa/ai-equity-challenge.
