We are proud to share that Dr. Angel Hsu, Founding Director of the Data-Driven EnviroLab (DDL), has been appointed as an inaugural member of North Carolina’s newly established AI Leadership Council!
On Tuesday, September 2, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein issued Executive Order No. 24: Advancing Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence That Benefits All North Carolinians. To empower North Carolina in becoming a national leader in the responsible, trustworthy, and equitable use of AI, the EO established a state AI Leadership Council that will advise the Governor and North Carolinian state agencies on various aspects of AI, including governance, workforce development, and its environmental impacts.
“The Council’s mandate is ambitious — to shape North Carolina’s AI future in ways that maximize opportunity while ensuring that we safeguard civil rights and security as well as minimize impacts on strained resources and the climate. I’m excited to bring in the perspective of opportunities for AI to address climate mitigation and resilience in a way that ensures it isn’t intensifying the problem,” said Hsu.
The EO aligns with DDL’s recently launched Center for Climate Leadership and AI-driven Integrity in Mitigation (CLAIM), which hosted a series of open discussions on UNC’s campus in May to examine the application of AI to address climate change. Invited experts discussed the growing water, energy, and carbon footprint of AI while also exploring the growing interest of companies and governments in utilizing AI to improve information access and identify opportunities for cost and carbon savings. Social scientists spoke to potential risks of AI, such as hallucinations that can misinform or narrow viewpoints, leading to polarization on climate solutions.
The CLAIM team at the first CLAIM Conference: “Climate Action in the Age of AI: Can Intelligent Systems Save the Planet?”
For Dr. Hsu and the DDL, participation in the Leadership Council is an opportunity to bring this expertise and insights at the intersection of AI, data and environmental governance to a state-level forum. With North Carolina emerging as a hub for technology and research, this council is posed to set an example for how state-level and local governments can guide AI to better serve the public interest, while minimizing potential risks.
