US Invests Big to Support AI Model Forecasting Wildfires

The US Administration is looking to continue its fight against wildfires, announcing an investment of $250,000 into developing an artificial intelligence model designed for fire weather forecasts.

The University of Wisconsin Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) and the Center for Satellite Applications and Research, both part of NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), will use this additional funding to develop a customized version of LightningCast.

Using pictures and data from NOAA satellites, this artificial intelligence algorithm forecasts lightning strikes within the next hour at any given area, particularly those near wildland fires.

This money is part of a larger investment made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to advance fire weather research as part of President Biden's Investing in America initiative.

According to NOAA, it is still testing the upgraded LightningCast tool and conducting related research on the early identification of dangerous fire-generated thunderstorms as part of its ongoing efforts to develop products to aid first responders in staying safe during wildland fires.

According to data from the National Interagency Fire Center, 61,410 wildland fires in the US were, on average, between 2013 and 2022, burning 7.2 million acres annually. 7.6 million acres were burned by 68,988 wildland fires in 2022 alone.

LightningCast is a real-time tool used by incident meteorologists (IMETs) at NOAA's National Weather Service to warn wildland fire incident teams about the possibility of local lightning strikes, which could spark a new fire.

AI vs. Traffic, Taxes

Many government agencies are still utilizing AI to improve their operations. Consequently, California recently issued the new agreements as part of Governor Gavin Newsom's AI objectives. Recent attempts to employ AI in government services seem to be a move against gridlock, tax guidance, and safer roads.

Administration officials say the state is working with five businesses, including Google and Amazon, to develop generative AI technologies. Ultimately, this will help the state deliver better services to the broader people.

State employees will test and evaluate the products during an internal six-month trial that the companies will start. For their proposals, each company will get one dollar.

The state can assess which instruments could be fully implemented under new contracts when there is a significant budget imbalance. An administration representative claims that as none of the instruments deal with sensitive or private information, they are all regarded as low-risk.

California's AI Objectives

Since 35 of the top 50 AI companies globally are headquartered in California, the Democrat Newsom emphasizes the state as a global hub for AI. Last year, he signed an executive order requiring the state to look into the ethical uses of generative AI by this summer to position California as a leader in artificial intelligence.

In January, the state started asking tech companies to create generative AI products for government use. The following states, including California, were among the first to provide recommendations last month regarding state agencies' purchase of such instruments.