How New Yorkers Are Using AI to Address Climate Change

Every year during Climate Week we find ourselves grappling with the same question: Are we doing enough to mitigate the effects of climate change? In the face of extreme weather events, grim sea-level projections, and record-breaking heat, it’s easy to fall into the trap of pessimism even as it is marked by urgency. 

But this Climate Week, there’s a reason to feel more optimistic. As widespread adoption of AI continues to capture the imagination, more New Yorkers are beginning to understand the potential for new technologies to help us address our climate emergency.

In April, New York made a landmark investment into AI research and development through Empire AI, a consortium of public and private institutions that are dedicated to using and developing AI for the public good. Because of Empire AI, New York’s colleges and universities are going to be able to build on their existing AI research, including helping New Yorkers speed up climate change solutions.

And they’re already getting started.

Dr. Chris Thorncroft, the director of the University at Albany’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, is partnering with major utilities like Con Edison to develop algorithms that use scores of weather data to forecast load demand across the New York City electrical grid.

With New York experiencing some of its hottest summers on record, managing electrical load demand is crucial, especially as New York continues its push toward a clean energy future.

Dr. Thorncroft and his team are also using machine learning to help utilities train computer models to predict power outages based on weather forecasts and the impacts of past storms. This helps utilities better prepare their response and get the power back on much faster — helping everyday New Yorkers.

Just this summer, the team deployed high-tech sensors along major electric transmission and delivery infrastructure in Puerto Rico to develop AI-powered models that will determine grid vulnerabilities. Efforts like these will make the grid far more resilient to weather extremes.

In each of these efforts, two things are clear. One is that Dr. Throncroft and his team are working to help New Yorkers fight climate change. The other is that they need AI to do it.

That’s the promise of Empire AI. New York isn’t just investing in complex machinery; we are investing in people like Dr. Thorncroft. With the support of Empire AI, researchers like him are going to continue to develop AI to serve the public good in the face of climate change. And, as we enter Climate Week 2024, that alone is reason for optimism.

-Julie Samuels, President & CEO, Tech:NYC