Artificial Intelligence (AI) can do a variety of interesting things; it can do your homework, it can help you start a business, it can even — predict the future? That’s right, it appears that AI has finally begun to surpass human ability, with some AI models able to accurately predict the future and… it’s a good thing.

Kettle is a new technology company dedicated to fighting climate change using artificial intelligence, and their business plan is actually quite genius. Kettle builds machine learning algorithms that utilize a massive amount of data to accurately predict climate change catastrophes that may occur in the future, and Kettle isn’t joking when they say massive; they use roughly three petabytes of data to build their algorithm. For those of you who aren't tech nerds, that’s about the same amount of data as in thirty thousand full-length movies shot entirely in 4K. Yeah, that’s pretty massive. 

Kettle uses MODIS and LIDAR (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and Light Detection and Ranging) technology to analyze past wildfire data and mathematically interpolate factors influencing wildfires such as “wildfire events, high wildfire-potential areas, and non wildfire areas.” Their neural network consists of 115,456 nodes that can accurately predict the possibility of future wildfires.

Their models divide areas into a grid, where their machine-learning algorithm can then analyze each area based on the factors that contribute to wildfires. For example, their Genesis Model divided California into 320,000 0.5 square mile plots, where their model was then able to predict wildfires with an accuracy of 89.2%. Their model can accurately predict wildfires in under 20 seconds, in comparison to other companies' times of upwards of four hours.

Right now, Kettle is a private risk-analysis company. However, their technology is leading the way toward a future of AI-powered climate change mitigation. Many governmental agencies and the United Nations hope to see this type of technology being employed by states in order to prevent climate change catastrophes within their borders. In fact, the UN Security General has launched the Early Warnings For All Initiative, which “aims to ensure everyone on Earth is protected from hazardous weather, water or climate events through early warning systems.” They hope to complete these systems and make them available to everyone before 2028.

As private companies and public agencies work together to intersect technology and climate change initiatives, artificial intelligence will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of sustainable living.