Keynote: “AI for Action: Geospatial Intelligence for Humanitarian Response and Climate Resilience” – Dr. Steffen Knoblauch
Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform how we respond to climate impacts and humanitarian crises—especially when combined with Earth observation, open geospatial data, and local knowledge. This keynote will explore how AI-powered tools can support decision-making in challenging environments, from disrupted infrastructure after disasters to urban areas facing health and climate risks. Focusing on applied, real-world use cases, the talk will highlight how integrating physical models with machine learning enables more robust, interpretable, and adaptive systems—for example, in routing under disaster conditions, participatory risk mapping, or estimating exposure to climate-sensitive health risks such as vector-borne diseases. The presentation will emphasize collaboration across disciplines and sectors, showing how AI can contribute not just to understanding our changing planet, but to actively shaping more resilient futures.