Boundary Holding
Boundary Holding

The rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm, creating enthusiasm about its potential to revolutionize entire industries and solve the world's most pressing challenges. At the same time, it has also started to raise concerns among serious technology stakeholders, both in government and private, about how AI is increasingly being used to make life needlessly easy and convenient.

Technology companies and global investors, taking cue from the large-scale adoption of and interest shown in such products & services by the public, are increasingly investing in technologies that range from self-driving cars to voice-activated assistants programmed to make even the most basic human decisions.

Are We Over-Investing in Convenience Over Humanity?

The risk of over-investing in novelty and convenience, while ignoring the more significant concerns facing humanity, can have far-reaching consequences. Feelings, intuitions, and values are precisely what allow us as humans to make and debate ethical and moral decisions. In the end, we must live with and be shaped by them.

While it's fine to be fascinated by the idea of a sophisticated tech-companion, ready with every little solution to your problem, it's critical for venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, technologists, researchers and society at large to continue with their long-term focus on developing solutions to real, pressing challenges that, some experts say, could pose existential threat in the not-too-distant future.

AI's role in addressing global challenges

The application of AI in health & medicine, robotics, environment, education, space, agriculture, data security and travel & transport are still some of the areas of focus for most global VCs, but with climate change beginning to take its toll in diverse ways, they'll need to do more to confront the challenge as key stakeholders.

The 2024 U.N. climate summit - COP29 – was held during yet another record-breaking year of higher global temperatures. The summit was labeled the "finance COP" because it sought to increase funding to support lower-income countries in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This means more investments.

A UN-backed report has stated that emerging countries, excluding China, need investments well beyond $2 trillion annually by 2030 to halt global warming. This investment is primarily expected to come from rich countries, global investors & venture capitalists and multilateral development banks.

Significance of venture capital

As part of a global initiative to enhance multi-sectoral cooperation to address climate challenges, VCs play a key role in shaping the direction in which the future ought to be headed by way of making investment decisions. But which are the areas VCs ought to focus on for long-term climate impact?

Rajat Khare, CEO & founder of venture capital firm, Boundary Holding, said investment in technologies like med-tech, marine-tech and green-tech, among others, has been at a good level so far as every investor understands that everybody's future, including their own, could be adversely affected if enough attention is not paid.

"It's both a business and a life decision for most of us. Rather than looking at technologies that make life easy, we focus on areas that could play a key role in mitigating climate change effects in the future. We have invested in clean-tech companies in the field of healthcare, marine cleaning, clean energy, among others. We are focused on partnering with companies and ideas that offer a solution to this global threat. Region wise, we are presently focusing on Eurasia".

AI potential & investments that matter

Rajat Khare's Boundary Holding has invested inRanMarine Technology, a Rotterdam-based company that specializes in the design & development of ASVs for cleaning aquatic water pollution. It has also invested in Smart Clean, among others, which enables data-driven, on demand cleaning operations.

AI-driven healthcare technologies have the power to revolutionize diagnostics, personalize treatments, and even predict and prevent diseases. With AI-enabled tools, doctors can detect illnesses, like cancer or heart disease, much earlier than traditional methods, potentially saving countless lives.

In environmental conservation, AI can monitor deforestation, track carbon emissions, and optimize renewable energy usage. The potential for AI to address global challenges is limitless. However, it requires the perseverance of innovators and investors who are focused on more than just the next gadget or novelty. It may not be the right time for such indulgences.

Even education is benefitting from the integration of artificial intelligence. It's transforming how students learn and how educators teach. Adaptive learning platforms use AI to customize educational content based on each student's strengths and weaknesses, ensuring a personalized learning experience.

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