Can AI get the world to net zero faster‪?‬ The Energy Podcast

Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are helping the energy industry accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future. The Energy Podcast explores how AI is being used today and discusses how to unleash its potential.

Presented by Eno Alfred-Adeogun. Featuring Kate Kallot, founder and CEO of Amini, Bob Flint, CEO of Mirico and Amy Challen, Shell’s global head of AI.

Additional reporting by Claire François and Berry Mulder.

The Energy Podcast is a Fresh Air Production for Shell, produced by Annie Day and Sarah Moore and edited by Eno Alfred-Adeogun.

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Eno Alfred-Adeogun: Today on The Energy Podcast.

 

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Audio: I will be working alongside humans to provide assistance  and  support  and  will  not  be  replacing  any  existing  jobs.

You sure about that, Grace?

Yes, I am sure.

 

00:00:20

Eno Alfred-Adeogun: That’s Nurse Grace speaking at the  world's  first  robot  press  conference  last  year.  And yes, she’s a robot. Powered  by  artificial  intelligence  this humanoid can diagnose illness, deliver  treatments,  and  even  offer  patients  emotional  support.  Impressive, right?  Well, yes, but she’s just one  of  many  examples  of  AI-enabled  machines  designed  to  address  some  of  the  world's  biggest  challenges;  social  care,  disease,  hunger,  and  probably  sooner  than  you  think.  Consider how deeply AI is  already  entwined  in  so  much  of  our  daily  lives.  From  work  commutes …

 

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Audio: You’ve arrived at your destination.

 

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Eno Alfred-Adeogun: ...  to virtual learning …

 

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Audio: (foreign language).

 

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Eno Alfred-Adeogun: ...  to, " Alexa, what’s on my to- do list?"

 

00:01:11

Audio: Subscribe to The Energy Podcast.

 

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Eno Alfred-Adeogun: A global AI revolution isn’t  coming, it’s already here.  So, could this rapidly advancing  technology  also  tackle  the pressing challenge of lowering emissions? Hello, I’m Eno Alfred-Adeogun, and today  on  The  Energy  Podcast  we  ask,  can  AI  get  the  world  to  net- zero  faster?

Joining me to discuss this  is  Kate  Kallot,  founder  and  CEO  of  the  African  tech  startup  Amini.  Bob  Flint,  CEO  of  methane  emission  monitoring  company  Mirico.  And  Shell's  global  head  of  artificial  intelligence,  Amy  Challen.  It’s really great to  have  you  all  on  the  episode  today.

Now, before we delve  into  the  world  of  AI,  a  really  helpful  place  to  begin  is  defining  what  it  actually  is.  Because by the number  of  definitions  I  found  when  researching  this  episode,  that's  actually  harder  to  do  than  it  sounds.  So let’s briefly see  if  we  can  reach  a  consensus  of  what  it  actually  is.  Kate, coming to you  first.

 

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Kate Kallot: For me, I have  one  simple  definition  of  AI, which  is  going  to  literally  take  one  sentence.  It is the science to  make  computers  think  and  take  actions  like  humans.

 

00:02:30

Eno Alfred-Adeogun: Love it.  Brilliant.  Brilliant.  Amy, what about you?  Can you add to  that?

 

00:02:34

Amy Challen: I think I’m going  to  give  a  more  boring  answer.  I often think about  it  compared  to  software.  In software, we write  the  rules.  We say, " If this happens,  then  that  happens,"  and  we  define  what  that  rule  is.  But AI works differently.  We give AI a  load  of  historical  data,  and  we  say, " You  tell  us  what  happens  based  on  the  patterns  you've  observed  in  the  past."  And so it can  be  a  bit  of  surprise  what  it  comes  up  with.  The other thing to  watch  out  for  is  that  if  our  historical  data  is  bias