Artificial intelligence (AI) has the capacity to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in most sectors of the economy, as one of the papers contributing to the World Development Report 2024: Economic Growth in Middle-Income Countries noted in its findings.
The study, “AI, Development's New Wingman”, noted that AI can be leveraged in poverty reduction efforts and highlighted the efficiency and effectiveness of using AI to estimate poverty statistics.
Among the key discoveries in agriculture has been AI's ability to help smallholder farmers in low-income countries increase crop productivity through a range of applications and solutions, as well as detect crop diseases and pests, optimize irrigation, and provide customized crop management advice.
Soil moisture levels, weather patterns, and crop water requirements can be analyzed to conserve water and improve crop yields. AI-powered decision support systems can help farmers make informed choices about crop selection, pest control, market trends, and resource allocation.
AI platforms can also provide smallholder farmers with real-time agricultural advice, weather forecasts, and market information, helping them improve their farming practices.
In education, AI can power the future of learning through individualized assessment and tutoring in a variety of ways, including personalizing learning.
By tracking progress and adjusting task difficulty, AI tutors deliver a customized learning experience that meets the specific needs of each student, ensuring optimal understanding and retention.
The study revealed that AI can supplement traditional classroom instruction and provide students with one-on-one personalized guidance and support. Through interactive lessons, exercises, and virtual simulations, AI tutors can engage students in personalized learning activities to deepen their understanding of complex concepts.
Additionally, AI can automate the grading process for assignments, tests, and assessments, saving teachers time and speeding up feedback to students. AI can use machine learning algorithms to evaluate student answers, provide scores, generate detailed performance reports, and streamline grading workflows.
More importantly, AI analytics can provide valuable insights into student performance trends, learning gaps, and instructional effectiveness.
By analyzing large datasets, AI can identify areas for improvement, predict student outcomes, and inform educators' instructional methods and strategies to improve student outcomes.
The role of AI in development is not limited to any particular sector, but will also play a key role in improving energy efficiency, traffic management, infrastructure monitoring, and more.
In terms of energy efficiency, AI algorithms can analyze energy consumption patterns and optimize usage in various environments such as buildings, industry, transportation systems, etc. Additionally, AI can predict equipment failures and recommend maintenance schedules, reducing downtime and improving overall energy efficiency.
Additionally, AI systems can manage energy demand in real time by adjusting consumption based on supply availability and price, promoting efficient energy usage.
In traffic management, AI-powered systems help analyze traffic patterns, optimize signal timings, and suggest alternative routes to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow. Moreover, AI algorithms can predict accident hotspots by analyzing historical data and implement preventive measures to enhance road safety. AI also offers innovative parking solutions.
When it comes to infrastructure monitoring, AI technology excels in remote sensing, where satellite imagery and sensor data are analysed to monitor the condition of critical infrastructure such as bridges, roads and pipelines.
AI helps in preventing escalation and ensuring timely maintenance by detecting potential issues early. AI systems also excel in asset management by tracking the health of infrastructure assets, predicting maintenance requirements, and optimizing resource allocation for efficient infrastructure management.
In disaster response scenarios, AI technology has proven invaluable as it can analyze real-time data to assess damage, prioritize recovery efforts, and effectively allocate resources after a disaster.
This technology offers huge opportunities to improve urban growth and contribute to the SDGs. But these opportunities come with ethical and societal challenges that need to be addressed. Using AI responsibly and ethically can help build better, greener cities.
