cityclimAIte - Study on AI applications to achieve and support climate-neutral cities

Starting point / motivation

Technological developments in the field of artificial intelligence are extremely dynamic. Hardly any other technology advances so rapidly. Furthermore, climate change is one of the greatest global challenges of our time; it is being accelerated by the economic practices and lifestyles of modern societies in particular.

It is therefore essential to identify, document and evaluate current and foreseeable developments in this area at an early stage and derive recommendations for decision-makers.

Through a detailed analysis based on international and national best and good practices as well as the existing framework conditions, gaps can be identified, potentials assessed and a recommendation catalog for future implementations will be developed.

Contents and goals

• Objective 1: Screening
  Comprehensive screening of national and international projects as well as planned foreseeable developments for the use of AI solutions to achieve climate-neutral cities.
• Objective 2: Use cases
  Identification of clearly defined AI use cases in various thematic areas that make a significant contribution to climate neutrality through the integration of AI.
• Goal 3: AI recommendation tool
  The aim is to implement factual and systematic guidance for municipalities and cities through an interactive and user-friendly recommendation tool for AI solutions according to their desired area of application.
• Goal 4: Potential analysis and evaluation
  In order to assess the impact and potential of AI applications, medium and direct effects as well as implementation potential and possible consequences are considered. The aim is to develop an analysis of potential that includes an evaluation matrix as well as feasibility and impact assessments in the areas of law, ethics, social issues, economics and ecology.
• Objective 5: Study
  The aim is to summarize the newly gained knowledge on possible AI applications and their practical implementation for climate neutrality and climate change adaptation in cities in a structured manner.

Methods

The first part of the project involves an exploratory search for existing use cases for AI both nationally and internationally. In addition to input from stakeholder involvement, literature research and small studies are also used.

This is used to build a knowledge base, create narratives and visions and focus on the key elements in a clustering and evaluation phase in order to finally carry out a potential analysis including an evaluation matrix and impact assessment as part of the systematic evaluation. The insights gained are concluded with the creation of the study and recommendation catalog.

Expected results

The central task of this study is to provide decision-makers with a comprehensive overview and to derive recommendations for the efficient use and benefits of AI based on the estimated effects. The aim is to strengthen national value chain in this field of technology through appropriate, supportive framework conditions.

Project management

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH

Project or cooperation partners

• Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft m.b.H.
• Tech Meets Legal GmbH

Christian KOGLER
Gieffinggasse 4
A-1210 Vienna

Tel.: +43 (664) 620 7832
E-mail: christian.kogler@ait.ac.at
Web: www.ait.ac.at