Background

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.

Conference Information

Session title: Data and AI for Sustained Earth Development

Place: Chengdu, China, Hybrid, June 8-11, 2025

Time: 15:30-17:00 UTC+8 Beijing/13:00-14:30 UTC+5:30 India/9:30-11:00 UTC+2 CET

Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/94440555394?pwd=owe2LOR6ESXg2yOaUkaAO9BvmI9xe0.1

(Zoom number: 944 4055 5394; Passcode: gosc)

Session duration: 90 minutes

Organizers: GOSC International Programme Office (GOSC IPO), CODATA IDPC, Institute of Space Earth Sciences, School of Frontier Sciences, Nanjing University, AIRCAS

Expected Outcomes

The session organizing committee will organize a special issue on Data Intelligence titled "FAIR data and beyond: coupling data and AI for sustained digital Earth development."

Co-chair: Francis P. Crawley (CODATA), Jianhui LI (Nanjing U. and GOSC), Zhang Lianchong (AIRCAS), Lili Zhang (CODATA & GOSC IPO)

Draft Agenda (90’)

15:30 – 15:40   SDG AI Development, Prof. Jianhui LI, Nanjing University
15:40 – 15:50   Ethics and Governance in AI-Enhanced Disaster Risk Reduction, Francis P. Crawley, CODATA, Online Report
15:50 – 16:00   Remote sensing big data analytics, Zhang Lianchong & Li Guoqing, Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), Chinese Academy of Sciences, China 
16:00 – 16:10   GeoAl, Geoprivacy and Academic freedom and Ethics in IGU, Dr. Pankaj Kumar, Department of Geography, University of Delhi, India, Online Report
16:10 – 16:20   Big Earth Data Platform with Artificial Intelligence to Support SDGs in the Belt and Road Areas, Dr. Shuai Gao, International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS), China
16:20 – 16:30   Hazard assessment and exposure modeling using big digital data in the Himalayas: Progress and insights from Nepal, Gopi Krishna BASYAL & Amod Mani DIXIT, Nepal. (TBC)

16:30-17:00 Panel Discussion

• Silos and gaps to bridge in tackling Big Earth Data challenges.
• The essentials of best practices in domains and regions highlight SDGs, open science, and others.
• Future envisions enhanced capacity building for sustained future development.

Reference

Goodchild MF, Guo H, Annoni A, et al. 2012. Next-generation Digital EarthView. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 109, No. 28, pp.11088 - 11094. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1202383109.

Guo Huadong. 2024. The origins and progress of Big Earth Data. Available at https://www.unesco-hist.org/index.php?r=article/info&id=2406[Last accessed Apr. 14, 2025].

Nicola Jones. 2024. The AI revolution is running out of data. What can researchers do? Nature 636, 290-292. DOI: 10.1038/d41586-024-03990-2.