AI Takes On The Weather — Google Deepmind's Graphcast Surpasses Traditional Forecast Models

DeepMind, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google, has developed an artificial intelligence model, GraphCast, capable of generating rapid, precise 10-day weather forecasts, a marked improvement over conventional methods.

What Happened: As reported by Bloomberg, the AI model, GraphCast, outperformed the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts’ premier forecasting model in about 90% of the metrics tested. 

This was confirmed in a study published in the Science journal and shared by the company’s CEO Sundar Pichai. 

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GraphCast demonstrated proficiency in predicting severe weather events. 

As the impact of climate change intensifies, leading to more unpredictable and potentially devastating weather events, DeepMind’s system can predict extreme weather events further into the future than was previously possible.

“GraphCast takes a significant step forward in AI for weather prediction, offering more accurate and efficient forecasts and opening paths to support decision-making critical to the needs of our industries and societies,” said Rémi Lam, a research scientist at DeepMind.

Despite GraphCast’s success, DeepMind’s team said their model should not replace conventional forecasting models. Instead, it serves as proof that AI-based weather prediction systems can complement and improve current best practices.

Why It Matters: This development comes on the heels of DeepMind’s strategic cutbacks in the face of Alphabet’s declining stock value. Last month, it was reported that this AI entity reduced employee-related expenses by 39% in 2022. 

Previously, in April this year, the company clubbed AI research groups, the Brain team from Google Research and DeepMind, to accelerate the progress in AI by a significant margin. 

Photo by IgorGolovniov on Shutterstock

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