Artificial intelligence is set to play a key role in mitigating infrastructure losses from natural disasters, a new study by Deloitte has found.
According to the AI for infrastructure resilience report, by the Deloitte Center for Sustainable Progress, leveraging AI could help prevent around $70 billion in infrastructure losses from natural disasters annually by 2050.
The report suggested that natural disasters are projected to cause around $460 billion of annual losses to infrastructure globally by the mid part of the century, with AI-enabled infrastructure capable of preventing around 15% of those projected losses.
“AI-enabled infrastructure resilience can transform how leaders protect their communities from the growing risk of extreme weather,” commented Jennifer Steinmann, Deloitte Global Sustainability Business leader.
“If deployed strategically, AI can help leaders identify risks sooner, optimise resources, prevent costly failures and disruption, and accelerate response and recovery times during natural disasters. Investing in both preventative and reactive AI-powered infrastructure solutions can help safeguard economic value and increase business resilience.”
According to the report, storms and floods are likely be the most damaging types of natural disasters, with AI particularly effective in reducing their impact—potentially saving $30 billion annually from storms alone.
As Deloitte noted, AI can contribute to resilience at various stages of the infrastructure lifecycle – in the planning phase, tools such as digital twins, predictive maintenance, and AI-enhanced urban planning can be adopted, while when it comes to response, AI-enabled early warning systems can detect risks like wildfires and floods, helping mitigate losses.
Post-disaster, AI can play a role in rapidly assessing the extent of damage and reducing repair time and material waste.
Barriers to adoption
In spite of its potential, the broader adoption of AI in this field faces hurdles, including outdated infrastructure, regulatory gaps, and funding constraints.
“Coordinating across global stakeholders to develop AI solutions that complement other resilience options is important to boosting innovation and subsequently creating a more resilient future,” added Costi Perricos, Deloitte Global GenAI Business leader.
“With broader adoption and improved AI capabilities, projected annual savings in direct disaster costs by 2050 could reach as much as $115 billion, potentially eliminating nearly one-third of disaster-related losses. This research demonstrates the clear economic, environmental, and societal value AI can provide – and leaders should take action to help ensure minimal disruption.” Read more here.
