NASA is partnering with Microsoft to develop an AI-powered chatbot geared toward making it much easier to sift through the enormous amounts of data collected by the space agency’s Earth-observing satellites. The app, called Earth Copilot and still in the prototype phase, uses Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to enable NASA scientists and researchers to better explore satellite data on climate change, atmospheric conditions and ocean temperatures.
Given the sheer scale and complexity of this data, making it more searchable — with the ability to ask specific questions and receive clear, actionable insights — could enable scientists and others to better analyze trends, develop predictive models and help address pressing global challenges.
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For example, a user could ask the chatbot, “What was the impact of Hurricane Ian on Sanibel Island?” or, “How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect US air quality?” The app can respond with relevant information and insights in seconds.
“For many, finding and extracting insights requires navigating technical interfaces, understanding data formats, and mastering the intricacies of geospatial analysis — specialized skills that very few non-technical users possess,” Tyler Bryson, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of health and public sector industries, wrote in a blog post.
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The development of the chatbot marks a step toward a future where critical data about the Earth isn’t limited to specialists. For now, it’s only available to NASA scientists and researchers, but the agency said it aims to “democratize data access” by making the tool more user-friendly and accessible to a wider audience.
NASA said, for instance, that it envisions educators using the chatbot to better engage and teach students about climate change, while policymakers could leverage the data to make informed decisions on critical issues.
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