AI for the Planet Alliance Names Advisory Board to Help Mobilize Broader Climate and AI Ecosystem

  • AI for the Planet Announces Prizes for Its “Call for Solutions” Competition for Promising Innovations in Climate AI
  • Advisory Board Will Support Call for Solutions by Providing Expertise and Engaging Their Networks to Support the Top Solutions

BOSTON—The AI for the Planet Alliance, a neutral, international organization to drive AI solutions for climate change at scale, has assembled an advisory board of over 30 global AI and climate thought leaders. This multidisciplinary expert panel, which includes members from academia, corporations, and NGOs, will help mobilize the broader AI and climate communities and provide expertise for future AI for the Planet initiatives, reports, and events.

Members of the advisory board will also amplify AI for the Planet’s Call for Solutions, which seeks promising innovations in climate AI, by engaging their respective networks to support the top solutions identified by the alliance.

Prizes for the Call for Solutions Competition

The AI for the Planet Alliance has invited all interested parties to participate in its Call for Solutions by submitting proposals in any stage of maturity (ready for a first pilot, at minimum) and from any sector, whether private, public, academic, or nonprofit. The alliance will select the top ten solutions that will be eligible for prizes to help them to scale and develop. Specific prizes will be awarded at the discretion of the individual organization providing each prize.

Prizes for eligible solutions include:

  • Consulting and technical expertise in the form of a five-week business development engagement (provided by Boston Consulting Group and BCG GAMMA)
  • Opportunity to unlock up to $150,000 in free Microsoft Azure credits (provided by Microsoft)
  • Access to robust development and productivity tools, including GitHub and Microsoft 365 (provided by Microsoft)
  • Mentorship guidance from business and technical experts (provided by Microsoft)
  • Startup-friendly offers from Microsoft partners (provided by Microsoft)
  • Access to Microsoft’s Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact Community for peer-to-peer discussions, exclusive events, and workshops (provided by Microsoft)
  • Mentorship from BootstrapLabs’ experienced VC specialists (provided by BootstrapLabs)
  • Opportunity to build solutions in BootstrapLabs’ Venture Studio for Climate and Energy (provided by BootstrapLabs)
  • Opportunity to be reviewed for investments from BootstrapLabs’ VC funds (provided by BootstrapLabs)

Eligible solutions will also be included in an AI for the Planet repository of climate AI solutions, and receive invitations to AI for the Planet summits that convene global experts in climate and AI. In the spring of 2023, the alliance will also host an event which will include a pitch session for the top ten identified solutions.

Building on its July 2022 report that outlined the use cases for AI in climate change, AI for the Planet will also publish a new report in the coming year to highlight the top solutions and present action items for global stakeholders to help climate AI reach its full potential.

Members of AI for the Planet’s advisory board include:

  • Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni - Head of AI Movement, Moroccan International Center of AI
  • Amen Ra Mashariki - Senior Principal Scientist, Bezos Earth Fund
  • Andelka M. Phillips - Senior Lecturer in Law, Science and Technology, The University of Queensland
  • Andrew Wyckoff - Director of Directorate for Science, Tech & Innovation, OECD
  • Atefeh (Atti) Riazi - CIO & SVP, Hearst Corporation
  • Aubra Anthony - Senior Fellow, Technology and International Affairs Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Damien Gromier - CEO & Cofounder, Startup Inside
  • Dexter Galvin - Global Director, Corporations & Supply Chains, CDP
  • Dominic Waughray - Senior Advisor to the CEO, WBCSD
  • Doris Sullivan – Managing Director, Innovation, The Rockefeller Foundation
  • Edwin van Bommel - Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, ABN AMRO Bank
  • Gloria Nelund - Chairman & CEO, TriLinc Global
  • Golestan (Sally) Radwan - AI Advisory to the Minister (former), Egypt Ministry of Communications & IT (former)
  • Grant Allen - General Partner, SE Ventures
  • Jeremy Hillman - SVP, External Engagement, Mastercard
  • John C. Havens - Sustainability Practice Lead, IEEE Standards Association
  • Kay Firth-Butterfield
  • Laurent Guengant - Global VP: Head of Strategy, Digital Solutions, & Bus. Ops., Hitachi Global Social Innovation Business
  • Linda Avery - Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Verizon
  • Linda Leopold - Head of Responsible AI & Data, H&M Group
  • Mark Minevich - Chair, Executive Committee, AI for Good Foundation
  • Marko Grobelnik - Chief Technical Officer & AI researcher, IRCAI
  • Maurizio Vecchione - Chief Innovation Officer, Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation
  • Mehdi Ghissassi - Director & Head of Product, DeepMind/Google
  • Nicolai Wadstrom - Founder, CEO & General Partner, BootstrapLabs
  • Pierre Gentine - Professor of Geophysics & Director of LEAP, LEAP (at Columbia University)
  • Shachee Doshi
  • Sophia Popova – Investor, Summit Partners
  • Valmaine Toki - Professor of Law, The University of Waikato
  • Vijay Kasarabada - Chief Information Officer, Nuveen - A TIAA Company
  • Vivienne Ming - Founder & Executive Chair, Socos Labs
  • Zaki B. Khoury - Senior Digital Development Specialist, World Bank
  • Zerin Osho - International Climate Law and Policy Specialist, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development

List of AI for the Planet advisory board members is also available here.

Learn more about the Call for Solutions competition and apply here. Applications are due November 30, 2022.

Media Contact:
Eric Gregoire
+1 617 850 3783
gregoire.eric@bcg.com

About the AI for the Planet Alliance

AI for the Planet is an alliance created by Startup Inside, with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and BCG GAMMA as knowledge partners, and in collaboration with the AI for Good Foundation; the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and the UN Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT).

It is a unique, multidisciplinary, and diverse coalition intended to: 1. Promote innovation in applying advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to climate challenges, supported by global experts from academia, startups, and the public and private sectors; 2. Act as a global platform for identifying and prioritizing the leading tools and use cases for AI in addressing the climate crisis; 3. Identify and champion the most promising solutions for addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation and resilience, especially in the Global South, offering the solutions visibility and recognition; 4. Ensure impact at scale through concrete and measurable actions, such as building access to funding and to practitioners on the ground; and 5. Facilitate the development of networks between project teams, investors, and experts in the field—including startups, corporations, and the public sector.

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