AI in Action | January 2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to help us solve the greatest challenges of our time from health care, agriculture, and education to transportation, energy, and national security.
When guided by ethics, transparency, and fairness, responsible AI can spark creativity and help usher in a more prosperous and sustainable future.
See how AI is improving our lives, growing our economy, and keeping us safe.
AI in Action
Orbital, an industrial engineering company, is teaming up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to make data centers more energy-efficient and carbon-neutral by leveraging AI to discover and create advanced materials. Orbital is radically improving the speed and efficacy of materials discovery and new technology commercialization by replacing traditional trial and error processes with its generative AI platform. As a result, the company has created a new carbon-removal material that can be scaled and integrated throughout data centers to act as an atomic-level “carbon sponge.” Since establishing its lab in the first quarter of 2024, Orbital has achieved a 10x improvement in its material’s performance using its AI platform and is breaking new ground in carbon removal efficacy. Starting in 2025, AWS will pilot the novel material in one of its data centers as it works with Orbital to accelerate the development of additional materials related to cooling, water utilization, and carbon removal.
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Ella is using AI to create personalized visual supports for diverse learners
For neurodivergent children, traditional educational methods often fall short of addressing their unique needs. Research reveals that 70 percent of neurodivergent kids thrive when information is presented visually, yet creating personalized materials that accommodate these preferences is a time-consuming and resource-intensive task. Ella, an AI platform that streamlines the creation of visual learning materials, allows educators and parents to quickly generate resources tailored to students’ unique needs and interests. From individualized instruction and behavioral support to communication strategies and social skill development, special educators and parents of neurodivergent children must navigate a complex landscape of student needs, each as unique as the child themselves. By generating learner-centric visual supports in seconds and in a ready-to-use format, Ella makes learning more personal and helps educators dedicate more time and resources to the things that matter most.
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Researchers are using AI to create cheaper, faster, and more effective snake antivenoms
Venomous snakebites kill upward of 100,000 people every year around the world and maim countless more, yet snake antivenom production methods haven’t changed much in over 100 years. Currently, the amount of antivenom needed to treat a single bite can cost tens of thousands of dollars and take months to produce. Using an AI program called RFdiffusion that creates novel protein structures based on specific inputs, researchers have created small proteins or “binders” that bind to snake venom toxins and neutralize them. The AI-created synthetic antivenoms quickly and completely neutralized so-called three-finger toxins, one of the most lethal families of venom toxins wielded by cobras and many other deadly snakes. If developed for use in humans, the binders would represent a game-changer that would make antivenom cheaper, more effective, and accessible. Traditional antivenoms require constant refrigeration, whereas the AI-created binders would not and could likely be delivered via an EpiPen-like injector, which could end up saving thousands of lives and limbs.
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Can AI Help Humans Understand Animals and Reconnect with Nature? A Nonprofit Research Lab Thinks So.
DeepMind’s Hassabis Sees AI-Designed Drug Trials This Year
AI Spotlight
Cisco recently introduced Cisco AI Defense, an end-to-end solution designed to help enterprises confidently develop, deploy, and secure AI applications. As AI technologies evolve, they bring forth new security challenges that traditional solutions may not adequately address. Cisco AI Defense aims to mitigate these risks by leveraging the company’s extensive network visibility and control with an end-to-end solution that protects both the development and use of AI applications so enterprises can advance their AI initiatives with confidence. AI Defense safeguards against the misuse of AI tools, data leakage, and increasingly sophisticated threats, which existing security solutions are not equipped to handle. With AI Defense, security is integrated into every stage of the AI lifecycle—from discovery and validation to runtime protection and access control. This not only reduces the risk of security breaches and operational disruptions but also helps organizations comply with industry regulations surrounding AI use and data protection.
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About AI for America
AI for America is an initiative to educate the public about how AI is being used to improve lives, grow our economy, and keep us safe. The initiative combines coalition building, advocacy, social media, and traditional media to demonstrate the immense economic and societal benefits of AI. AI for America is funded by TechNet, the national, bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives. TechNet advances public policies at the federal and state level that make the United States the world leader in innovation. Its diverse membership includes dynamic American businesses ranging from startups to the most iconic companies on the planet. For more information, go to technet.org and AI4America.com.