Meliora: a podcast from the Sustainability & Resilience Institute
Welcome to the Meliora Podcast from the Sustainability and Resilience Institute at the University of Southampton!
This podcast explores the greatest and most wicked problem that is sustainability, whilst looking at how we are collectively addressing this critical global challenge.
Sustainability needs to be addressed by understanding how the economy, society, culture, politics and environment intersect, and this is the focus that informs each episode of the Meliora podcast.
In each episode, host Professor Simon Kemp and guest hosts are joined by a variety of guests, including academics, students, staff, researchers, alumni, community groups and business leaders.
The aim of the podcast is to shine a light on the vast range of topics surrounding sustainability and to allow listeners to learn about the critical challenges we face, as well as how they can be part of the solution. We also ensure our fantastic students have the opportunity to share their brilliant work with the world.
Podcast host: Professor Simon Kemp, Deputy Director of the Sustainability & Resilience Institute, University of Southampton
Podcast editors: Lily Killner, Sophie Green, Libby Kale, Jack Dinham, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton
Please do get in touch to discuss this podcast and any of the issues we raise by emailing sri@soton.ac.uk
Follow us on instagram and X: @meliorapodcast
Meliora: a podcast from the Sustainability & Resilience Institute
Student Takeover Season: The Sustainability Issues around Artificial Intelligence
In this student takeover episode of the Meliora Podcast from the Sustainability & Resilience Institute at the University of Southampton we explore Artificial intelligence (AI) and its sustainability. Host Hannah facilitates a debate among four colleagues. Louise and Lavin express concerns about AI's negative environmental impacts including high energy consumption, emissions, and contribution to e-waste. Conversely, Travis and Gabriella advocate for AI's potential in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals through efficient energy management, ability to predict extreme weather, and optimising production and consumption. They discuss AI's impact on transportation addressing concerns about job displacement alongside its benefits for traffic optimization and vehicle maintenance. Both parties acknowledge the importance of monitoring AI’s sustainability impact by establishing transparency in AI development and emissions generated. This transparency allows for more accurate comparisons between the pollution generated by AI and the pollution resulting from humans performing the same actions. The episode concludes by recognising AI's complex role in sustainability, emphasising the need for ongoing research and more comprehensive data to better understand its benefits and drawbacks.
Episode team: Louise Brun, Hannah Feibusch, Gabriella Randall, Travis Arthur, Lavin-Ryan Naidu.
This episode is part of the Student Takeover Season on the Meliora Podcast, and is a group project from the University of Southampton 'Global Sustainability Challenges' module.
