Is AI the Solution to Climate Change?
Why can’t we predict the weather accurately? It seems like it should be solvable with an algorithm, combining all the elements that weigh into weather. People try, but we can't predict the weather more than three months in advance (and more than three days reliably) because there are too many variables. The elements affecting weather will inevitably change, due to humans and unforeseen changes to the environment; therefore, correctly predicting how those myriad elements will change in the future is near impossible.
The same applies in the long run with climate change. Using data from the past, we can see the climate is changing and the planet is warming and will likely continue to do so, but the degree to which it will and the effects that will have are uncertain. You can’t simply extrapolate current trends into the future because we can’t predict potential technological innovations that will be made in the future. It’s very likely that we will invent some kind of technology that can reverse any damage done to the environment. This technology will likely be related to artificial intelligence (AI).
If people are so optimistic about AI—that it can reach general intelligence (and possibly even superintelligence), then they should also be optimistic about AI solving climate change. But many of the same people who think AI is going to become more powerful than humans and take over the planet, also think that humans are going to destroy the planet through climate change. However, those two scenarios are contradictory.
A superintelligent AI would be able to calculate everything that goes into the “weather algorithm.” If you control the weather, you control the climate. AI can then innovate physical technology that can bio and geo-engineer the planet—control all living matter—essentially make the environment on Earth exactly how you want it. It could restore extinct plants and animals through genetic engineering. AI would have complete control over the planet, including the climate. At the exponential rate technology evolves, it’s conceivable that something like that will be around in 100 years, possibly sooner.
Climate change is real and will cause problems in the present and future, though probably not as drastic of problems as some claim. It is not an existential threat to the species, and overcompensating plans like the Green New Deal are not the answer. Even if some of the worst-case climate predictions come true, I’m still optimistic about humanity’s hopes in the long run. Assuming civilization doesn't destroy itself before then (which can't be ruled out), AI will eventually figure out how to solve climate change—and just about every other problem on Earth.