Want to know everything about Earth? Ask NASA's AI chatbot
15 Nov 2024

NASA has teamed up with Microsoft to create an AI chatbot called Earth Copilot.

The revolutionary tool aims to make it easier to access and understand scientific data about our planet.

Essentially, Earth Copilot will answer questions about Earth by breaking down NASA's vast geospatial information into simple, digestible answers.

Earth Copilot: A bridge between complex data and public understanding
AI integration

The development of Earth Copilot involves integrating AI into NASA's data repository exceeding 100 petabytes.

This way, the chatbot can refer to this information when answering questions like "What was the impact of Hurricane Ian in Sanibel Island?" or "How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect air quality in India?"

The ultimate goal of this project is to democratize access to scientific data, which is currently difficult for those without a research/science background.

AI to simplify data extraction and analysis
Streamlining process

Tyler Bryson, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Health and Public Sector Industries, emphasized the difficulties non-technical users encounter while extracting insights from NASA's database.

He said many people find it hard to navigate technical interfaces, comprehend data formats, and learn geospatial analysis.

Bryson thinks AI could simplify this by cutting down the time required to gain insights from Earth's data to mere seconds.

Earth Copilot's initial use and future integration
Testing phase

As of now, Earth Copilot is only available to NASA scientists and researchers for testing its capabilities.

The next step would be to look into its integration into NASA's Visualization, Exploration, and Data Analysis (VEDA) platform.

The platform already offers some access to the agency's data, making it an ideal candidate for the chatbot's future expansion.