Data and AI for Sustained Earth Development

Data is the fuel of the digital world, which nourishes the prosperity of the socioeconomic world, revolutionizes the science paradigm, and reshapes the way we live and work everywhere. However, new challenges arise in the changing AI world, such as data fuel running out (Jones, 2024). How can we understand the data world empowered by artificial intelligence? How do we envision the future sustained data world development? The most important thing to start with is understanding the current digital world, identifying the most challenging issues, bridging gaps, and exploring possible solutions for future envisions. 

Among these, Big Earth Data and others provide useful scenarios and examples for data and AI coupling. Big Earth Data refers to various scientific information on digital Earth (Goodchild et al., 2012; Guo, 2024), which mostly features multiple-sourced, transdisciplinary, heterogeneous, massive-scale Earth-relevant data and are highly requested to be accurate, replicable, readily accessible, timely and sustained for future development. Coupling data and AI provide smart ways to make complicated Big Earth Data work for Earth research and development.  

Therefore, the IPO of the Global Open Science Cloud (GOSC) initiative plans to co-organize this “Data and AI for Sustained Earth Development” session with the International Policy Committee of the CODATA and Nanjing University during the DEBAR 2025 meeting. Officially launched in 2021, Institute of Space Earth Sciences, School of Frontier Sciences, Nanjing University. Formally launched in 2021, the GOSC Initiative is officially launched to develop open science infrastructures to bridge gaps for better research innovation. In facing the AI-driven open science models and aligning with the UNESCO-led International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD), GOSC aims to strengthen the e-infrastructure development that supports global research for sustainable development.

Based on these backgrounds, GOSC IPO is organizing this session to explore the transformative role of AI-enhanced Open Science Clouds (OSCs) in advancing DRR. The discussion will highlight how the convergence of AI technologies and open science infrastructures can significantly enhance disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. It will also address the technical, policy, and ethical challenges of deploying AI in DRR contexts. The session aims to create a dynamic environment for sharing best practices and innovative ideas by facilitating dialogue among scientists, policymakers, technologists, and global stakeholders.