
Global Talks online: AI, sustainability sciences and global development
As the world grapples with urgent challenges - from climate change and biodiversity loss to food insecurity and armed conflicts - AI is emerging as both a potential game-changer and a source of new ethical and ecological dilemmas.
Date: 15 October 2025
Time: 12:00 - 12:00
Organiser: SLU Global
Location: Online
Join us for a one-hour discussion exploring the rapidly evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in sustainability sciences.
Speakers
Abozar Nasirahmadi, professor of digitalisation in agricultural engineering will open with a talk on AI and Bias: Sources and threats, exploring the different sources of bias, why they occur, and the potential dangers they pose in areas such as agriculture, and food security.
Dr Gwen Varley, researcher in rural development will share ethical concerns about large language models (LLMs) from environmental, economic, and political perspectives. This will include an examination of how LLMs depend on rural resource extraction, perpetuate digital colonialism, and accelerate elite capture and accumulation of wealth and power.
Together, we will ask questions about how sustainability sciences can harness AI responsibly and inclusively to drive global collaboration, innovation, and just transitions towards a more sustainable future.
This event is open to anyone interested in the intersections of AI, sustainability sciences, and global development.
Join Zoom meeting: https://slu-se.zoom.us/j/63494439530
Meeting ID: 634 9443 9530
Passcode: 569952
About our speakers:
Abozar Nasirahmadi is a professor of digitalisation in agricultural engineering at the Department of Energy and Technology. He researches the development of innovative solutions tailored to specific farming conditions to foster a more sustainable and efficient future for the agricultural and food production sectors. His work includes developing AI-based systems and smart sensors, as well as big data analytics and robotics in both livestock and crop farming systems.
Gwen Varley is a researcher in the Division of Rural Development. Her work focuses on issues of gender equality and social inclusion within rural and agricultural development, primarily in East and Southern Africa.
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Visiting address: Almas Allé 7
global@slu.se www.slu.se/slu-global
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