AI tool used to identify and fund promising climate research at UK universities
By
JeanKage
9mo ago· 5 min readenNews
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Summary
An article about how Imperial College London developed an AI tool to identify promising climate-related research close to commercialization. The AI program awarded £35,000 to Joanna Sadler, an organic chemist at the University of Edinburgh, for her work on engineering bacteria to convert disposable cutlery into acetone. The piece explores the potential of AI to accelerate grant review processes while also raising concerns about algorithmic bias in funding decisions.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledIn March, Joanna Sadler, an organic chemist at the University of Edinburgh, received an unusual email. It promised £35,000 to advance her research—no strings attached.
The offer came from a program at Imperial College London that had developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to spot promising climate-related research that was close to commercialization.
Sadler's work on engineering bacteria to convert disposable cutlery into acetone—an industrial solvent currently derived from fossil fuels—had made the cut.
Funders test algorithms to spot promising science, raising hopes of faster reviews—and fears of bias
