Related papers: Climate Change Task Force Report for the American …
The National Academy of Science Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee, in its new Decadal survey entitled Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium, recommends, as a first priority, the establishment of a National Virtual…
We review some key issues pertaining to NASA's Research and Analysis programs, and offer recommended actions to mitigate or resolve these issues. In particular, we recommended that NASA increases funding to support a healthy selection rate…
With the ever-growing adoption of AI-based systems, the carbon footprint of AI is no longer negligible. AI researchers and practitioners are therefore urged to hold themselves accountable for the carbon emissions of the AI models they…
How are formal policies put in place to create an inclusive, equitable, safe environment? How do these differ between different communities of practice (institutions, labs, collaborations, working groups)? What policies towards a more…
Growing awareness of the environmental impact of digital technologies has led to several isolated initiatives to promote sustainable practices. However, despite these efforts, the environmental footprint of generative AI, particularly in…
Transiting exoplanet atmospheric characterization is currently in a golden age as dozens of exoplanet atmospheres are being studied by NASA's Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. This trend is expected to continue with NASA's Pandora…
The ASTROMOVES project studies the career moves and the career decision-making of astrophysicists. The astrophysicists participating have to have made at least two career moves after receiving their doctorates, which is usually between 4…
Fundamental coding and software development skills are increasingly necessary for success in nearly every aspect of astronomical and astrophysical research as large surveys and high resolution simulations become the norm. However,…
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and its progressively wider impact on many sectors across the society requires an assessment of its effect on sustainable development. Here we analyze published evidence of positive or negative…
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence has significantly increased the electricity, water, and carbon demands of modern data centers, raising sustainability concerns. This study evaluates the environmental footprint of AI server…
Current proposals for AI regulation, in the EU and beyond, aim to spur AI that is trustworthy (e.g., AI Act) and accountable (e.g., AI Liability) What is missing, however, is a robust regulatory discourse and roadmap to make AI, and…
Climate change and environmental concerns represent a global crisis accompanied by significant economic challenges. Regular international conferences held to address these issues, such as in the UK (2021) and Egypt (2022), spark debate…
As a short introduction to the astronomy session, the response of the community to the Call for Themes issued by ESA and the specific themes selected by the Astronomy Working Group are briefly presented in connection with the four grand…
The importance of computing in astronomy continues to increase, and so is its impact on the environment. When analyzing data or performing simulations, most researchers raise concerns about the time to reach a solution rather than its…
Motivated by an imperative to reduce the carbon emissions of cloud data centers, this paper studies the online carbon-aware resource scaling problem with unknown job lengths (OCSU) and applies it to carbon-aware resource scaling for…
In the past several years, scientists have issued a series of warnings about the threats of climate change and other forms of environmental disruption. Here, we provide a scientists' warning on how technology affects these issues.…
We consider that existing approaches to AI "safety" and "alignment" may not be using the most effective tools, teams, or approaches. We suggest that an alternative and better approach to the problem may be to treat alignment as a social…
Policy Brief on "Global Data in Astronomy: Challenges and Opportunities", distilled from the corresponding panel that was part of the discussions during S20 Policy Webinar on Astroinformatics for Sustainable Development held on 6-7 July…
If the ethnic makeup of the astronomy profession is to achieve parity with the general population within one generation (~30 years), the number of underrepresented minorities earning graduate degrees in astronomy and astrophysics must…
We report the outcomes of a survey that explores the current practices, needs and expectations of the astrophysics community, concerning four research aspects: open science practices, data access and management, data visualization, and data…