Inaugural Lecture on Artificial Intelligence and Climate Change

As a rare October wildfire raged in Greece, the nation’s prime minister and other senior Greek government officials, academics, and leaders from corporate sector and non-governmental organizations joined Columbia University faculty for a discussion on artificial intelligence and climate change – the first event in a series to be hosted by the recently launched Columbia Global Center Athens.

The topic for this first convening in a series of distinguished lectures was entitled, The Power of AI: Accelerating Climate Change or Driving Solutions? It included a lecture by Pierre Gentine, professor of geophysics and earth and environmental sciences, that provided examples of novel ways in which AI can transform how we tackle the consequences of climate change. Examples provided included better wildfire forecasting, detailed flood management and generally providing a clearer understanding of how weather patterns will evolve. The challenge of AI’s energy usage and how it could be a potential amplifier of climate change was also put forth. Following the presentation, Dean Costis Maglaras of the Columbia Business School moderated a discussion between Gentine and Professor George Deodatis, professor of civil engineering and earth and environmental engineering, who further expanded on this topic.

In his comments, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis lauded the partnership with Columbia. “This is going to be absolutely critical for what we do in the future,” Mitsotakis said, adding that he valued the Global Center as a way to funnel knowledge between Greek policymakers and university researchers. This sentiment was underscored by U.S. Ambassador to Greece George Tsunis, who praised Columbia for its establishment of a Global Center in Greece. He also shared his expectation for the Center to help educate a new generation of leaders in Greece and serve as a driver for more student exchanges between Columbia and Greece.

The event took place at the American College for Classical Studies in Athens. It was the inaugural event in the Athens Center’s new Distinguished Speaker Series, which aims to explore critical global issues through dialogue and the exchange of ideas, linking local perspectives with global research and action.

In their comments, Wafaa El-Sadr, executive vice president of Columbia Global, and Stefanos Gandolfo, director of the Athens Global Center, reminded the audience of the four goals for the Columbia Global Centers: educating students, advancing faculty research, pursuing solutions through joint projects and engaging in convenings like the one on AI and climate. Both El-Sadr and Gandolfo stressed that all such efforts are centered on building partnerships and genuine collaborations with counterparts in the country.

Future programming at the Columbia Global Center Athens will address issues related to the priorities for the Center, including migration, public health and medicine, business and innovations, policy, classics and the arts.

"For us, it is important to all get together, to find solutions in common to global-level challenges that people face at a very local level." Gandolfo said.