Artificial intelligence, or AI, is at a crossroads. It can write poetry, predict protein structures and simulate the weather, but it can also deepen inequalities, waste energy or amplify misinformation. As the world grapples with these contradictions, the next generation of researchers is showing what it looks like to steer AI toward the public good.
Among them is Hannah Kerner, an assistant professor in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Kerner has been named a 2025 AI2050 Early Career Fellow, joining an elite group of scientists selected by Schmidt Sciences to receive a share of $18 million in research funding.
A global fellowship for a global mission
Kerner, a machine learning researcher and the AI lead for NASA’s agriculture programs, NASA Harvest and NASA Acres, has built a career at the intersection of leading-edge computing and global sustainability. Her work isn’t about designing smarter chatbots or faster models. It’s about making the benefits of AI accessible and actionable for real-world decision-makers, including helping communities grow food, respond to disasters and protect natural resources.
The AI2050 program funds researchers who are answering one ambitious question: How can we make sure AI helps create a better world by 2050? The program supports early-career and senior scholars working on AI that improves science, safety and society. In 2025, Kerner is one of only 28 researchers chosen from a global pool to receive this distinction.
“I am honored to be selected as an AI2050 Fellow,” Kerner says. “The AI2050 fellowship is one of the few opportunities that embraces both the scientific risk and the societal potential of research that aims to transform how society interacts with and benefits from AI.”
The AI2050 community includes researchers who are redefining what AI can do, from making self-driving cars safer to building datasets that capture cross-cultural human values.
Putting the power of AI in people’s hands
Kerner’s AI2050 project takes on one of the field’s most pressing challenges: making powerful, high-impact AI tools accessible to people who don’t have a background in data science.
Her team is developing new methods that let decision-makers use satellite data to monitor sustainability indicators, with no coding or AI expertise required. Users can describe their goal in plain language. For example, to support action in agriculture, climate adaptation or conservation, they can enter a query such as “map cropland changes after a drought.” The system then adapts to provide outputs specific to the user’s request without requiring any new model training.
Just as importantly, users can provide feedback to improve the model’s performance and correct errors or undesirable patterns they observe. This ensures that communities remain partners, not subjects, in how AI interprets their world.
“Our goal,” Kerner says, “is to empower people everywhere to turn Earth observation data into insights that help them make better decisions for their environment and livelihoods.”
Read the full story on Engineering News.