Artificial Intelligence for Climate Justice

Applications are invited for a full time three year PhD Studentship in Artificial Intelligence for Climate Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University, UK. As a student, you would be working closely with the Artificial Intelligence research group and the Centre for Climate Justice.

The global mean temperature increase of 1.1°C since pre-industrial levels, attributed to record levels of greenhouse gases, has had a profound effect on human health, the economy, and security. The World Meteorological Organization reported 2010-2019 as the warmest decade on record; ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting faster and sea-ice in the Arctic and Antarctica is shrinking. Furthermore, the strongest cyclones recorded, severe flooding and extreme heat conditions have increased global hunger, internal displacements, health inequalities, and compounded economic shocks and conflict.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has proven highly effective in drawing insight from data where the underlying patterns are difficult or impossible to identify using traditional data analysis techniques. The prediction power of AI has the potential to significantly impact many climate change issues; predicting anything from extreme weather events to crop yield. The data available for such prediction systems is significant, making the application of AI to the field of climate change a logical progression which has the potential to provide significant societal impact. Unfortunately, communities most severely affected by climate change are also those who are most likely to be deprived from the level of education and the specialised technology required to leverage the power of AI to make informed decisions which could have lifesaving impacts on a large scale.

This research project sets out to address the following key areas:

i) How can the power of AI be leveraged, through development and application of new systems, to deliver Climate Justice under times of significant climate change?
ii) Development and application of predictive analytics systems climate related issues such as crop yield forecasting, extreme weather prediction etc. using a range of data modalities including image and time series data.
iii) To what extent can communities and individuals most likely to be negatively impacted by climate change access and utilise such AI systems to make informed pre-emptive decisions in the face of climate emergencies?
iv) Development and Application of new utilisation pathways which accommodate wider access to such systems (without the requirement for expensive/specialised hardware etc.) and ensure that these systems are accessible by those most in need of the services.

Applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Jenkins for further information as required.

Director of Studies
Name: Dr Mark Jenkins
Email: [Email Address Removed]
GCU Research Online URL:
https://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/en/persons/mark-jenkins

2nd Supervisor
Name: Dr Sennan Mattar
Email: [Email Address Removed]
GCU Research Online URL:
https://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/en/persons/sennan-mattar

3rd Supervisor Name: Prof. Tahseen Jafry / Prof. Gordon Morison
Email: [Email Address Removed] / [Email Address Removed]
GCU Research Online URL:
https://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/en/persons/tahseen-jafry https://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/en/persons/gordon-morison