AI for Sustainability: Activities of the CINI-AIIS Lab at University of Naples Federico II

Sustainability is pivotal to global development, aligning closely with the United Nations’ goals for a sustainable future. This paper introduces and discusses the perspectives and initiatives undertaken in these regards by the CINI AI-IS (the Italian National Consortium for Informatics, Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems) Lab at the University of Naples Federico II. We will first introduce the DroughtScope project, currently on board the Kanyni Australian satellite to exploit hyperspectral data to detect early water stress in crops and optimize water resource management. We will then describe the PIVA project, addressing the challenge of missing data in complex systems, which occurs frequently in environmental domains, using Physics-Informed Variational Auto-Encoders to prevent model collapse. Additionally, the impact of Agriculture 4.0 on farmer health and workplace safety is discussed, examining the challenges and opportunities presented by advanced technologies. Finally, the paper considers the environmental and ethical implications of AI’s carbon footprint, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to technological advancement and environmental accountability.