AI Magazine Special Issue on Computational Sustainability Computational Sustainability and Artificial Intelligence in the Developing World

It might be thought that artificial intelligence techniques or other types of computational methods are irrelevant in countries with few technological resources. As just one example of the possibilities, however, take road traffic in cities. The chaotic and spectacular road congestion which is characteristic of developing-world cities is a microcosm of opportunities for applying AI methods. The problems are mainly caused by inadequate infrastructure (e.g., road layouts which have not changed significantly despite decades of economic growth, unsealed or potholestrewn roads), and a lack of resources to monitor or control traffic (e.g., scarce and possibly corrupt traffic police, rolling blackouts affecting traffic lights). Computational solutions might come in the form of ways to cheaply gather real-time data, to advise individuals or emergency vehicles on optimal routes, to dynamically re-deploy a limited number of traffic police, or to analyze possible re-configurations of the road network to remove bottlenecks. Any such solution must take into account the unique nature of traffic in these places, where the assumptions made in developed-world intelligent transport systems – for example, that drivers travel in the correct direction, and only on the road – might not be valid.