AI Earth: Using AI to tackle climate change

Learn more about the cutting-edge AI products Jack and his team at Deeper Insights are developing to automate carbon capture on their website https://deeperinsights.com/

Dr. Natalia Efremova is Senior Research Fellow for Machine Learning and AI in Agriculture (Secondment). Natalia has an MBA from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Kyoto. Natalia has a background in both academia and industry research. Over the past 10 years, she has been working in the field of deep learning for image and video processing. Previously, Natalia was a Research Fellow in the University of Oxford, where she taught courses on AI and neural networks to MBA and executive students.

Natalia’s research focuses on applications of machine learning for pursuing sustainable goals. This includes defining the areas where ML tools would be especially advantageous within targets related to climate change, gender equality, sustainable agriculture, water, and food scarcity, as well as monitoring progress towards market adoption of the new AI-based technologies for water-, agri- and waste- tech industries.

Micheline Ayoub recently joined as the Executive Director of Sustainability in the Digital Age and the Future Earth Canada Hub. She brings over 20 years of experience promoting science-based evidence and cutting-edge technology on a local and international scale. Micheline’s diverse career experience spans work with the federal government, private entities, and in academic research. Her expertise ranges from intellectual property, data management and governance, to multi-stakeholder partnership development, to the use of AI for multi-omic data analysis in sustainable agriculture. She is known for her capacity to identify relevant synergies and forge effective partnerships with multiple national and international stakeholders based on cooperation and shared goals.

Micheline holds a PhD in Plant Breeding and a Master of Science in Agronomy, both from McGill University. She sits on the board of several science organizations including the Canadian Agri-Food Automation & Intelligence Network, Zone Agtech, and BioMass Canada. She also serves as a reviewer for the Québec Society of Phytopathology graduate students applications and as a judge for various 3-Minute Thesis competitions at McGill.

Micheline’s favourite saying is that of St-Exupéry « Nous n’héritons pas la terre de nos ancêtres, nous l’empruntons à nos enfants » – “We don’t inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”