IBM's AI-Powered Tools to Inform Sustainable Development
According to the IEA, approximately 775 million people currently lack access to electricity, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Energy infrastructures are frequently disrupted by extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, which further complicates the deployment and operation of renewable energy sources in these developing regions.
To address the issue of sustainable energy development, IBM announced two novel AI-powered solutions at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
These tools, created in partnership with the non-profit Sustainable Energy for All through IBM’s Sustainability Accelerator programme, provide vital, data-driven insights to inform leaders' decisions.
“Millions of people around the world don’t have basic access to electricity and new technologies such as AI can enable us to tackle this challenge,” says Justina Nixon-Saintil, VP and Chief Impact Officer at IBM.
“Through our IBM Sustainability Accelerator programme, we are using AI solutions and expertise to scale projects that support communities worldwide and promote a just and equitable access to clean energy.
“In alignment with UN SDG7, we are proud to collaborate with partners and local communities to deploy innovative solutions, including predicting urban growth to forecasting electricity access.”
Exploring IBM’s Open Building Insights tool
The first of these tools, Open Building Insights (OBI), is an interactive online platform utilising the IBM Cloud.
It aggregates extensive data on buildings into a user-friendly map format, displaying details such as building location, height, footprint area and usage type.
By making data easier to understand, this tool can help to inform the sustainable development of cities and towns around the world.
OBI incorporates models from the German Aerospace Centre, Open Energy Maps and IBM, allowing it to distinguish between residential and non-residential structures, which is critical for accurate energy planning.
This tool is free for public use and has already been effectively implemented in Kenya's Makueni County, where it is expected to benefit more than a million residents by 2030.
IBM's first focus for OBI is on expanding its application in India, in continual collaboration with Sustainable Energy for All.
Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, says: “At Sustainable Energy for All, we believe that integrating AI in the energy sector planning and evidence – especially for developing countries will go a long way in designing comprehensive solutions for many of the developmental challenges currently facing the Global South and its people.
“The OBI Tool, developed in collaboration with IBM, will help energy planners overcome critical data gap challenges to inform energy access and energy transition interventions and better deliver results for those most in need.”
Introducing the Modelling Urban Growth Tool
IBM's second tool is an AI model called Modelling Urban Growth (MUG).
This open-source model is capable of predicting urban expansion using comprehensive datasets from satellite imagery, geographic, demographic and structural information.
MUG has been trained using information from 11 African countries including Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, among others.
This model is designed for adaptation, enabling users worldwide to re-train it with data specific to their locale, thus enhancing its application potential.
IBM hopes to integrate MUG into OBI in the future, allowing for seamless information to support sustainable development.
"At IBM, we're proud to launch solutions that harness the power of artificial intelligence to have an impact for communities around the world," says John Matogo, Corporate Social Responsibility Leader for Africa & the Middle East at IBM.
"Collaborating with organisations such as Sustainable Energy for All through our IBM Sustainability Accelerator program helps us unlock innovation and work more closely in communities to tackle some of our biggest challenges, especially around energy and sustainable urban development."
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