Vivien Puppa Kocsis

Were the Los Angeles fires predictable? Are these fires an outlying event or part of the standard pattern of Mother Nature? Are city fires the new normal? Wildfires move with terrifying speed – some LA fires spread at 6 football fields per minute, outpacing even Usain Bolt - and thus fire response has to be even faster. While the LA fires paint a grim picture, the powerful synergy of cutting-edge AI and space technology can offer a lifeline. For example, NASA’s MODIS satellite has been collecting fire trends data for 26 years and in a few months Google’s research team will help orbit a new satellite that will allow fire monitoring with the unprecedented accuracy of 5x5 meters and at a reduced processing time: computation that takes 1 minute now will take 30 milliseconds. Vivien is an award-winning scientist, trained by the FDNY New York City Fire Department, a former Googler, and a current researcher for NASA - join her in exploring the transformative potential of AI’s and space tech’s synergy in fire management and UN Sustainable Development Goals impact.

Key takeaways:

• Wildfires are not bad per se, wildfires are part of nature’s normal cycle.
• Major fires are typically predictable.
• The synergy between cutting-edge AI and space technology transforms fire monitory and management