SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

Timon McPhearson

Publications and source records attributed to Timon McPhearson.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

AI for a Planet Under Pressure

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already driving scientific breakthroughs in a variety of research fields, ranging from the life sciences to mathematics. This raises a critical question: can AI be applied both responsibly and effectively to address complex and interconnected sustainability challenges? This report is the result of a collaboration between the Stockholm resilience Centre (Stockholm University), the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), and Google DeepMind. Our work explores the potential and limitations of using AI as a research method to help tackle eight broad sustainability challenges. The results build on iterated expert dialogues and assessments, a systematic AI-supported literature overview including over 8,500 academic publications, and expert deep-dives into eight specific issue areas. The report also includes recommendations to sustainability scientists, research funders, the private sector, and philanthropies.

cs.CY

Letter to the Editor: Note on published research on the effects of COVID-19 on the environment without sufficient depth of science

Dear Editor-in-Chief: We have given two articles published recently in Science of the Total Environment by Mandal and Pal (2020) and Zambrano-Monserrate et al. (2020) a thorough reading. Both articles present a significant association between the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) social distancing policies and improvement in environmental quality such as air pollution, land surface temperature, and noise. Both articles present good research, complemented by detailed explanations and displays, yet we have a few concerns that affect the interpretation and meaning of the results.

physics.ao-ph