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.”
Introducing OlmoEarth
Kerner’s efforts to democratize Earth AI took another leap forward this fall with the launch of OlmoEarth, a new open foundation model she co-developed with the Allen Institute for AI, or AI2.
The OlmoEarth Platform combines innovative machine learning with open, shareable technology that transforms satellite imagery, radar and elevation data into real-time, actionable insights. Its simple but ambitious goal is to put the power of planetary-scale data analysis into the hands of governments, stakeholders and local communities without requiring specialized technical knowledge.
Updates from OlmoEarth arrive within hours, not years, helping organizations act quickly in response to environmental change. Already, its models are powering projects across the globe, mapping live fuel moisture with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to prepare for wildfires, identifying drivers of deforestation across the Amazon and helping improve crop planning in Kenya and Mozambique.
“This is about turning AI from a black box into a shared tool,” Kerner says. “By making these systems open and collaborative, we can ensure that the benefits of AI extend beyond research labs and can empower communities, organizations and governments to use technology in ways that truly support a sustainable future.”
A record of research with real impact
Kerner’s selection as an AI2050 Fellow builds on a remarkable track record of innovation. Earlier this year, she earned a 2025 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award from the U.S. National Science Foundation for her groundbreaking work in remote sensing and machine learning. Her lab’s projects — like Fields of The World, which maps global croplands using satellite imagery — help shape food security policies and support sustainable agriculture.
In Hawaii, the AI for ʻĀina initiative from the Kerner Lab brings AI and data science education to local students through community-based learning. And as part of NASA’s global initiatives, she collaborates with partners in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands to help turn satellite data into practical solutions for farmers and policymakers.
Kerner’s philosophy is simple. AI should work for everyone.
“At the end of the day, what are we researching AI for? Who is the research for? We want to build systems that help ensure people have food on the table and communities have the resources they need to thrive,” she says.
Building a future where AI serves people and the planet
At ASU, Kerner is part of a growing movement to align AI with real human needs, a mission deeply embedded in the university’s charter to measure success by whom it includes and how it serves communities. Her recognition as an AI2050 Fellow underscores not just individual excellence, but the rising influence of ASU researchers in shaping a responsible, resilient AI future.
Kerner’s vision stands out because it’s both technical and deeply human. She doesn’t just want smarter models; she wants systems that help us understand the complexities of Earth.
Kerner most recently contributed to efforts that bring rigorous forecasting and accountability to conversations about AI’s future. She is an academic advisor and co-author on the launch white paper for the Longitudinal Expert AI Panel, or LEAP, a monthly forecasting study that collects predictions and rationales from top computer scientists, economists, industry leaders and superforecasters, including well-known industry figures, to map the range of expert views on AI progress and impact.
LEAP’s focus on verifiable forecasts and decision-relevant findings complements Kerner’s work by helping policymakers and practitioners plan for plausible AI-driven futures while centering transparency and diverse expertise.
As AI continues to reshape society, voices like hers remind us that technology’s greatest achievement won’t be self-awareness. It will be its ability to help us care for the planet we share.
