AI and Sustainability: help or threat?

Annas research concerns bioenergy and resource recovery, and she is studying biochar and ashes from residual streams regarding water and soil applications and nutrient recycling. In her research, she is working with the characterisation of the material, including analysing the samples with X-ray tomography, which provides a 3D image of the sample, and with the help of advanced image processing, properties of the samples can be obtained. Anna and the research team are working with methods for using AI through deep learning on the tomographic data. Using AI is a step to enhance the data analysis, through improved and more efficient analyses

In her presentation, Anna will talk about the challenges and opportunities that comes from using AI as an integrated resource in research.

AI-systems are increasingly prevalent today and the implementation of technical solutions in society affects different people in different ways. For a continued socially sustainable society, it is necessary to reflect on how technical solutions include and exclude different target groups in society. This is important not only from an economic perspective, but primarily from the perspective of a welfare society that is based on democratic values and adheres to the EU's Ethical guidelines for Trustworthy AI. Therefore, developers, users, and researchers need to reflect on the following questions:

• Representativeness: who is involved in the development and implementation of AI systems?
• Co-creation: in what way, with which tools and methods, can citizens influence the development and implementation of AI systems?
• Societal change: how do we want these systems to change our society?

In her presentation, Karin will explain how co-creative design approaches can be used in the design and implementation of AI systems.