By Yaoyu Zhang

Kyoto University and Accenture have begun working together to solve social issues by using artificial intelligence (AI). They aim to combine the university’s specialized cutting-edge research on disaster prevention, space, and healthcare with the practical AI technology Accenture has developed in the business world so it can be applied to society.

In the area of disaster prevention, they aim to develop a service to forecast disaster risk, including the creation of hazard maps, by combining weather and earth observation data and AI technology. In the area of space, they are trying to develop AI-based technology to predict a phenomenon in which the sun’s surface explodes and space radiation that would cause widespread power outages and damage satellites. (Abridged)