THANKS, EVERYBODY, FOR JOINING
US HERE TODAY IS A JOINT
INFORMATIONAL HEARING ON HOW
CALIFORNIA IS LEVERAGING AI FOR
EFFECTIVE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
AND RESPONSE. ONCE AGAIN, GOOD
AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. WITH THAT
SAID, LAST WEEK I VISITED THE
PARK FIRE AND SAW THE BLACKENED
CANYONS AND DESTROYED HOMES
FIRSTHAND. IN JUST A WEEK AND A
HALF, THIS FIRE BECAME THE
FOURTH LARGEST FIRE IN
CALIFORNIA HISTORY. IT'S A FAST
MOVING FIRE IN MODERN HISTORY
AND MODERN MEMORY. AS WE ALL
KNOW, CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL AND
IT'S MAKING DISASTERS WORSE IN
OUR ALREADY DISASTER PRONE
STATE. CLIMATE CHANGE MEANS OUR
CURRENT AND FUTURE HAZARDS ARE
NOT THE SAME AS AS IN THE PAST.
THAT'S WHY WE NEED THE NEWEST
AND BEST TOOLS AVAILABLE TO HELP
US FACE THESE CHALLENGES.
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES LIKE
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HAVE
TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL TO ENHANCE
OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
CAPABILITIES. FORTUNATELY
CALIFORNIA'S ALREADY MAKING
GREAT STRIDES IN THIS AREA. FOR
INSTANCE, THE ALERT CALIFORNIA
PROGRAM USES A NETWORK OF HIGH
RESOLUTION CAMERAS AND AI TO
DETECT WILDFIRES EARLY,
PROVIDING CRITICAL REAL TIME
DATA TO FIREFIGHTERS. THE STATE
THREAT ASSESSMENT CENTER USES AI
TO ANALYZE THREATS AND
COORDINATE RESPONSES ACROSS THE
AGENCIES, AND THE CYBERSECURITY
INTEGRATION CENTER ARE
CONDUCTING A JOINT RISK ANALYSIS
FOR THREATS OF CALIFORNIA'S
ENERGY CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
USING GENERATIVE AI WITH PLANS
TO DEVELOP A SIMILAR STRATEGY
FOR ALL OTHER CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE. BEYOND THREAT
DETECTION. I CAN ALSO HELP
PREDICT DISASTERS BY ANALYZING
DATA TO FORECAST WEATHER
PATTERNS, PREDICT FLOOD OR FIRE
AREAS, AND ANTICIPATE RESOURCES
NEEDED BEFORE DISASTER. EVEN
HAPPENS. THIS ALLOWS FOR BETTER
RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND
EVACUATION PLANNING, POTENTIALLY
SAVING LIVES AS WE ELEVATE AND
ADOPT THESE TECHNOLOGIES, IT'S
OUR DUTY TO ENSURE THEY RESULT
IN PRACTICAL, PUBLIC SAFETY
FOCUSED SOLUTIONS. OUR
PARTNERSHIPS WITH AGENCIES, TECH
COMPANIES AND ACADEMIC
INSTITUTIONS ARE VITAL TO
DRIVING INNOVATION IN THIS
FIELD. WE MUST ALSO COORDINATE
WITH FEDERAL EFFORTS SUCH AS
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY,
A ROADMAP TO ESTABLISH A UNIFIED
DISASTER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY,
STRATEGY STRATEGY BY WORKING
TOWARDS A COMPREHENSIVE AI
STRATEGY, WE CAN ADDRESS THE
CHALLENGES OF TODAY WHILE
PREPARING FOR THE UNCERTAINTIES
OF TOMORROW. WHILE WE HAVE MADE
SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS, OUR WORK
IS FAR FROM DONE. IT IS
IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO
COMMIT INNOVATION, OVERSIGHT AND
COLLABORATION, ENSURING THAT AI
AND OTHER ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES
EFFECTIVELY PROTECT ALL
CALIFORNIANS AND ENHANCE OUR
STATE'S RESILIENCE. THANK YOU
ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY, AND I
LOOK FORWARD TO THE DISCUSSIONS
AND INSIGHTS THAT OUR EXPERTS
AND REPRESENTATIVES WILL PROVIDE
TODAY. NOW, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO
MY COLLEAGUES. IF THEY HAVE SOME
OF THEIR OWN REMARKS, SENATOR
DODD, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, GOOD
AFTERNOON. I'D LIKE TO THANK THE
CHAIRS OF THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE
COMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AND THE ASSEMBLY
COMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AND, THE STAFF FOR
ALL YOUR WORK ORGANIZING TODAY'S
HEARING ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT
TOPIC AND A THANK YOU TO EACH OF
THE PARTICIPANTS, WITH OUR
PANELS TODAY, AS WE KNOW,
CALIFORNIA'S UNIQUE GEOGRAPHY
AND WORSENING CLIMATE CHANGE
PUTS US AT A HIGHER RISK FOR
NATURAL DISASTERS AND
EMERGENCIES. FROM FLOODS,
EARTHQUAKES, WILDFIRES, JUST TO
NAME A FEW. ADDITIONALLY,
CALIFORNIA IS A GLOBAL LEADER IN
TECHNOLOGY, ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE, BOASTING 35 OF OUR
WORLD'S TOP 50 AI COMPANIES AND
A QUARTER OF ALL THE PATENTS AND
CONFERENCE PAPERS. DURING
TODAY'S HEARING, WE'LL LEARN HOW
WE ARE CURRENTLY AND CAN IMPROVE
LEVERAGING OUR TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANCES TO BETTER PREPARE FOR
AND RESPOND TO THESE EMERGENCIES.
FOR EXAMPLE, TIME MAGAZINE
RECENTLY RECOGNIZED CAL FIRE, UC
SAN DIEGO AND INDUSTRY PARTNER
DIGITAL PATH AI, FIRE DETECTION
TOOL ALERT CALIFORNIA AS ONE OF
THE BEST INVENTIONS OF 2023. I
LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE
ABOUT THAT INITIATIVE TODAY, AS
WELL AS OTHERS SIMILAR EFFORTS
ACROSS PUBLIC, PRIVATE, AND
ACADEMIC CENTER SECTORS. THANK
YOU AGAIN TO ALL THE
PARTICIPANTS TODAY. LET'S WORK
TOGETHER TO ENSURE THAT
CALIFORNIA REMAINS ON THE
FOREFRONT OF AI EMERGENCY
RESPONSE AND PREPARATIONS.
KEEPING IN MIND THAT WHEN IT
COMES TO EMERGENCIES, IT'S ONE
TEAM, ONE FIGHT. THANK YOU.
OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH,
SENATOR. ANY OTHER COLLEAGUES?
SENATOR SAWYER Tê, THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. AND THANK YOU ALL FOR
BEING HERE TODAY AND BRINGING US
UP TO DATE ON ON THE NEW THINGS
THAT ARE OUT THERE TO HELP US ON
THE PREVENTION DETECTION SIDE OF
THIS. I THINK IT'S REALLY
IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US TO
REALIZE UP HERE AS THE
LEGISLATURE THAT, IDENTIFYING
WHEN WE HAVE A PROBLEM, THAT IS
VERY, VERY VALUABLE. BUT THERE'S
ALSO THE OTHER PIECE OF THAT AND
BEING ABLE TO RESPOND TO THAT
PROBLEM AND HAVING THE
APPROPRIATE RESOURCES, AVAILABLE
TO US. AND IF WE'RE NOT
RECOGNIZING THAT THROUGH OUR
BUDGET PROCESS, WHERE IN THIS
PAST BUDGET WE CUT OUT CAMP CRUZ
AGAIN, OR THE ABILITY TO
FORMULATE CAMP CRUZ, THOSE ARE
PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY, ONCE THE
AI HAS BEEN USED TO IDENTIFY AN
AREA WHERE WE CAN GO IN AND, AND
POTENTIALLY MITIGATE A FUTURE
PROBLEM, IF THEY DON'T EXIST,
THEN ALL WE WILL KNOW IS THAT
THERE IS A PROBLEM. AND WE ALL
KNOW THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM
ALREADY, THIS IS AN EXCITING,
VENTURE IN IN HELPING US BECOME
EVEN BETTER AT IDENTIFYING THOSE
THINGS, BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO
FORCE US TO, PROVIDE THE
RESOURCES THAT WE NEED, ONCE
WE'VE IDENTIFIED IT. AND SO I'M
ANXIOUS TO HEAR WHAT THE, THE
LATEST AND GREATEST IS, I THINK
IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS
ABSOLUTELY A NECESSITY FOR US TO
KEEP OUR PUBLIC SAFE, AND
ESPECIALLY THOSE AREAS WHERE WE
HAVE A LOT OF WUI AREAS WHERE
YOU HAVE THE URBAN WILDLIFE,
INTERFACE AREAS, BECAUSE THAT'S
WHERE HOUSES ARE BEING BUILT
NOW. AND, AND THAT'S WHERE WE
NEED THIS MOST. AND THAT'S WHERE
WE NEED OUR CREWS OUT THERE. AND
WHEN THERE AREN'T FIRES TO, TO
BE ABLE TO MITIGATE AND, AND
RESPOND TO THE AI INFORMATION
AND ALSO WHEN THERE IS AN
INCIDENT, CATCHING IT EARLY, IN
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, IT'S BEEN,
WELL, HUGELY SUCCESSFUL, THAT
THESE SMALL FIRES ARE KIND OF
STAYING SMALL. WE HAD ONE LARGER
ONE THIS LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS,
BUT FOR THE MOST PART, A LOT OF
THE SMALLER FIRES HAVE BEEN
BOMBARDED WITH AIR. AIR ATTACK
EQUIPMENT, BUT THERE AGAIN, WHEN
WE HAVE MULTIPLE FIRES AND
MULTIPLE REGIONS, WE START
RUNNING PRETTY THIN ON THAT. AND
WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT IN. AND IF
WE REALLY WANT TO KEEP OUR
PUBLIC SAFE AND RESPOND TO THE
NEW, NEW ISSUES AROUND FIRE
SAFETY AND WILDLAND FIRES IN
CALIFORNIA, IT'S GOING TO BE A
COMBINED EFFORT OF ADDRESSING
ALL OF IT. SO THANK YOU VERY
MUCH. AND I APPRECIATE I LOOK
FORWARD TO HEARING WHAT YOU HAVE
TO REPORT TO US. THANK YOU.
SENATOR. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS
COMMITTEE MEMBERS. NO. SO WITH
THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START
WITH OUR FIRST, PRESENTATION, WE
HAVE KELLY HUBBARD, THE DIRECTOR
OF THE SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY. MISS
HUBBARD, WHEN YOU'RE READY, I
BELIEVE YOU'RE JOINING US
REMOTELY. SO IF YOU ARE THERE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YES. CAN
YOU HEAR ME NOW? PERFECT. YES,
WE CAN. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR HAVING ME TODAY.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND AUDIENCE
AND PARTICIPANTS, A COUPLE OF
IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT SOME OF MY
COMMENTS HERE, AS MENTIONED IN
THE OPENING, THERE ARE DIFFERENT
TYPES OF AI AND DIFFERENT TYPES
OF AI DO GENERATE DIFFERENT
RISKS AS WELL AS OPPORTUNITIES,
AND I WON'T GET INTO EACH OF
THOSE NUANCES THROUGHOUT THIS.
BUT, RECOGNIZING THAT CONCEPTS
LIKE PREDICTIVE AI IN A TRAINED
ENVIRONMENT IS DIFFERENT THAN
GENERATIVE AI IN AN UNTRAINED
ENVIRONMENT, AI IS BEING USED
EVERYWHERE WITH OR WITHOUT OUR
PERMISSION. AND SO IT'S
IMPORTANT TO NOTE, TO NOTE THAT
WE ARE ALREADY USING AI AS WE
ARE IDENTIFYING THE RISKS AND AS
WE ARE IDENTIFYING OUR POLICIES
AND PROCEDURES ON HOW WE USE IT.
AND SO RECOGNIZING THAT IT'S
ALREADY BEING USED BY OUR
GOVERNMENT STAFF, OUR OFFICIALS,
AND NOT ALWAYS IN WAYS THAT WE
MAY, WANT TO IDENTIFY OR HAVE
CONCERNS WITH WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
SECURITY OF INFORMATION. AND SO
I WANTED TO REFLECT ON SOME
OPPORTUNITIES THAT AI HAS
PRESENTED US AT THE LOCAL
GOVERNMENT LEVEL. MOST
DEFINITELY, AI HAS PRESENTED A
FUN AND ENGAGING CONCEPT OF
DEVELOPING PUBLIC EDUCATION. HOW
CAN WE DEVELOP OUR PUBLIC
EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ON
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN NEW
AND FUN WAYS, USING AI TO HELP
US DEVELOP THOSE MESSAGES, THOSE
THAT CONTENT THAT WHETHER THOSE
ARE VIDEOS, GRAPHICS, VARIOUS
OUTREACH CONCEPTS OR PLATFORMS.
AND SO IT'S A REALLY GREAT TOOL
IN PREPAREDNESS FOR US, AND
ESPECIALLY IN UTILIZING THAT
TOOL WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
IT ALSO IS A TOOL FOR OUR OWN
PLANNING, SO WE CAN USE AI TO
INDEX OUR LOCAL PLANS. I HAVE MY
AGENCY HAS OVER 26 EMERGENCY
PLANS THAT WE DEVELOP IN-HOUSE
AND WE CAN USE, AND WE'RE JUST
STARTING TO EXPLORE HOW WE CAN
USE AI TO HELP US LOOK FOR
INCONSISTENCIES OR TO ENSURE
THAT OUR PLANS ARE IN ALIGNMENT
WITH EACH OTHER OR IN ALIGNMENT
WITH OUR PARTNER AGENCIES,
WHETHER THAT'S THE STATE OR
NEIGHBORING COUNTIES, OUR CITIES.
AND SO WE'RE JUST STARTING TO
PLAY AROUND WITH THOSE CONCEPTS
WHILE BEING COGNIZANT THAT THIS
IS CONTENT THAT THEN ENDS UP
POTENTIALLY IN A PUBLIC VENUE OR
SPACE, WHICH GENERALLY I DON'T
LOOK AS LOOK AT AS A PROBLEM FOR
MOST OF OUR EMERGENCY PLANS. BUT
THERE ARE SOME WHERE WE LOOK AT
CONCEPTS LIKE WATER UTILITIES,
WHERE WE WANT TO BE CAREFUL IN
HOW WE PRESENT THAT INFORMATION
INTO AN AI PLATFORM, AND HOW WE
PROTECT CONCEPTS LIKE OUR
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. WHEN
REVIEWING THOSE PLANS, WE'RE
ALSO EXPLORING HOW WE USE AI FOR
TO SUPPORT OUR VULNERABLE
POPULATIONS IN OUR IN DISASTERS.
CAN WE SUPPORT THOSE WHO MAY BE
DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING THROUGH
AI, MAYBE I CAN USE AI TO
GENERATE, ASL TYPE VIDEOS WHEN
WE ARE HAVING EVACUATIONS. THE
FLIP SIDE OF THAT IS, IS HOW DO
WE VERIFY AND CONFIRM HOW
ACCURATE OR ACCURATE OR
CONSISTENT THAT MESSAGING IS
WITH OUR MESSAGING THAT WE MIGHT
BE DEVELOPING IN ENGLISH OR
OTHER LANGUAGES, THAT MY STAFF
MAY BE NATIVE SPEAKERS OF? THE
OTHER CONCEPT FOR ALERTING AND
VULNERABLE POPULATIONS THAT
WE'RE LOOKING AT IS IN SANTA
BARBARA COUNTY. WE HAVE A
SIGNIFICANT POPULATION OF
MESTICO OR INDIGENOUS
POPULATIONS WHO HAVE UNWRITTEN
LANGUAGES. SO AGAIN, LOOKING AT
HOW WE COULD USE AI TO
COMMUNICATE WITH A COMPONENT OF
OUR COMMUNITY WHO IS DEFINITELY
VULNERABLE AND MAY NOT BE
RECEIVING INFORMATION REAL TIME.
AS NOTED EARLIER, SOME OF THE
OTHER AREAS THAT CAL FIRE AND
OTHER PARTNERS WILL BE TALKING
ABOUT AS PART OF THIS COMMITTEE
HEARING IS SOME OF THE CONCEPTS,
SUCH AS, ALERT CALIFORNIA, HOW
ARE WE USING AI TO RECOGNIZE
THREATS AND RECOGNIZE AND DO
RISK ANALYSIS? IT'S ALSO BEING
UTILIZED FOR SCENARIO,
PROCESSING. SO LOOKING AT
EVACUATION PLANNING, BOTH PRIOR
TO AN INCIDENT, BUT DURING AN
INCIDENT AS WELL, SOME OF THE
CONCEPTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT IS
HOW WELL IS THAT DATA, ALREADY.
INFORMED TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT
WHATEVER ANALYSIS IS BEING
PROVIDED BACK TO US, ESPECIALLY
IF IT'S REAL TIME DISASTER
ANALYSIS, TO ENSURE THAT THAT
DISASTER ANALYSIS IS ACCURATE,
SO THAT IF WE'RE MAKING LIFE AND
DEATH DECISIONS BASED ON THAT,
THAT WE FEEL CONFIDENT IN AND
KNOW WHERE THE DATA SOURCE IS
COMING FROM AND THAT THAT
RESOURCE THROUGH AI IS GOING TO
BE AN ACCURATE, SAFE SOURCE OF
ANALYSIS AND I THINK THAT KIND
OF POINTS TO THE FACT THAT NONE
OF THIS REALLY EVER REPLACES
LOCALIZED KNOWLEDGE THAT OUR
FIRST RESPONDERS, OUR PUBLIC
WORKS, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT,
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS MAY
HAVE ABOUT OUR JURISDICTIONS.
I'VE STARTED TALKING A LITTLE
BIT ABOUT THE CONCERNS, AND I'LL
TALK JUST A FEW MORE POINTS ON
THESE, NON-GENERATIVE AI IN ITS
CURRENT STATE ABSOLUTELY HAS THE
ABILITY TO MAKE UP THINGS YOU
CAN ASK FOR IT TO DEVELOP
CONTENT, AND IT CAN. I'VE SEEN
EXAMPLES OF IT DEVELOPING
CONTENT THAT IS NOT ACCURATE OR
HISTORICALLY, CORRECT. AND SO
HOW DO WE ENSURE WE'RE LOOKING
AT THAT AND VALIDATING THE
INFORMATION OR RECEIVING.
THERE'S CONCERNS ABOUT
PURPOSEFUL MISINFORMATION
UTILIZING AI. SO CAN BAD ACTORS
UTILIZE AI TO DEVELOP CONTENT.
TO DISSUADE CHANGE HOW PEOPLE
ACT AND RESPOND IN A DISASTER? I
DON'T WANT SOMEONE TO CREATE
CONTENT THAT LOOKS LIKE MY
CONTENT AS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT
AGENCY AND MAYBE POTENTIALLY
GIVE THE COMMUNITY INFORMATION
THAT IS NOT ACCURATE OR IN
ALIGNMENT WITH HOW WE'D LIKE TO
ENSURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS
REACTING IN A DISASTER. ONE OF
MY BIGGEST CONCERNS WITH AI IS
CULTURAL INCOMPETENCE IS WELL
DOCUMENTED. THAT AI IS
GENERALLY. AND PLEASE, NO
OFFENSE TO ANYONE IN THE GROUP,
GENERALLY HAS AN OLDER WHITE
MALE IMPLICIT BIAS IN ITS
CONTENT, AND SO HOW DO WE ENSURE
THAT AS WE USE AI IN EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE
START TALKING ABOUT ALERTING AND
HOW WE SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY,
HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT IT HAS
CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN THE
CONTENT THAT'S CREATED? AND THIS
IS ALL AREAS THAT ARE STILL
BEING EXPLORED BY EMERGENCY
MANAGERS ON THE LOCAL LEVEL? I
THINK ON THE STATE AND FEDERAL
LEVEL AS WELL. BUT ONE OF MY
BIGGEST CONCERNS IS HOW DO I
REVIEW AND LOOK AT THE CONTENT
BEING CREATED AND UNDERSTAND
WHAT ITS BIASES MAY BE. AND I
THINK, LASTLY, ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT HAVE COME UP AT A LOCAL
AGENCY LEVEL FOR MYSELF IS WHAT
ARE OUR LEGAL LIABILITIES AS AN
AGENCY TO USE AI AND DISASTER
PREPAREDNESS RESPONSE AND
RECOVERY AND CONCEPTS LIKE
SIMPLE CONCEPTS FROM. I'VE HAD A
LOT OF MEETINGS RECENTLY WHERE
SOMEONE HAS TURNED ON READ AI,
WHICH IS A NOTE TAKING SYSTEM,
AND THAT THEN OPENS UP ME AS A
GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO PRA
CONSIDERATIONS, BUT ALSO IF
SOMEONE'S USING THAT TO TAKE
NOTES, ONE CAN THOSE NOTES WHICH
MIGHT HAVE BEEN A CONFIDENTIAL
PLANNING OR A CONFIDENTIAL,
DECISION MAKING PROCESS
ASSOCIATED WITH THE DISASTER.
THOSE NOTES COULD MAYBE BE
PUSHED OUT PUBLICLY PRIOR TO
THEM BEING VALIDATED AND READY
TO GO OUT PUBLICLY. BUT TWO IF
IT HAS INACCURACIES IN ITS NOTE
TAKING, JUST THINK ABOUT HOW
WHEN YOU SPEAK INTO YOUR PHONE
AND YOU TAKE NOTES WITH YOUR
PHONE AND YOU USE THE VOICE
CONCEPT WHERE THERE'S
INACCURACIES, YOU'RE GOING TO
HAVE THOSE SAME CONCEPTS WITHIN
AI GENERATED NOTES. AND SO WE
LOOK AT THOSE LEGAL LIABILITIES
AND HOW DO WE ENSURE WE'RE
EVALUATING THOSE, RECOGNIZING
THEM AND TAKING THE APPROPRIATE
RISKS WHERE AI CAN SUPPORT US
AND BENEFIT US, BUT ALSO, NOT
EXPOSING OUR RESIDENTS
SPECIFICALLY OUR RESIDENTS, TO
ANY LIFE SAFETY RISKS, BUT ALSO
OURSELVES AS LOCAL GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES TO ANY LIABILITIES. I
THINK IF I WAS TO END WITH A
NOTE OF WHERE I'D LIKE TO SEE
AND HOPE US AS GOVERNMENT MOVE
FORWARD WITH AI IS IT'S THIS
REALLY POWERFUL TOOL. AND AS I
MENTIONED BEFORE, WE ARE ALREADY
USING IT AS WE ARE DEVELOPING
THOSE POLICIES AND SO HAVING
COLLABORATIVE OPEN SPACE FOR
GOVERNMENT TO LEARN FROM ONE
ANOTHER, BUILD AND GROW TOGETHER,
DEVELOP THOSE POLICIES TOGETHER
TO ENSURE THAT ALL LEVELS OF
GOVERNMENT ARE IDENTIFYING BOTH
RISKS, OPPORTUNITY AND
CONSIDERATIONS AS WE MOVE
FORWARD. AS MENTIONED, AS ONE
COMMUNITY. AND SO WITH THAT, I
WILL LEAVE IT TO SOME OF THE
OTHER SPEAKERS AND BE AVAILABLE
FOR SOME QUESTIONS AS WELL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MRS.
HUBBARD. NEXT, WE'LL HAVE
MICHAEL CRUZ, WHO IS THE CHIEF
INFORMATION OFFICER AT THE
CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF
EMERGENCY SERVICES. MR. CRUZ,
WHEN YOU'RE READY. GREAT. THANK
YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR
RODRIGUEZ, CHAIR DODD AND
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. MY
NAME IS MICHAEL CRUZ, CHIEF
INFORMATION OFFICER AT THE
GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF EMERGENCY
SERVICES. AND THANK YOU FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY ABOUT
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ITS
POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE, I'D
LIKE TO BRIEFLY TOUCH ON CAL OES
RESPONSIBILITY AND THEN PROVIDE
SOME INSIGHTS, INTO SOME AI
EVALUATIONS WE CONDUCTED TO LOOK
AT THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR
NOT ONLY FOR THE ORGANIZATION,
BUT FOR THE STATE TO ENHANCE OUR
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND
RESPONSE CAPABILITIES. SO CAL
OES LEADS THE STATE IN
COORDINATING DISASTER RESPONSE
AND ENSURING PREPAREDNESS FOR
ALL HAZARDS. WE ACTIVELY SUPPORT
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND EFFORTS
TOWARDS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS,
RESPONSE, RECOVERY, AND
MITIGATION FOR EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS. WE DEVELOP
COMPREHENSIVE EMERGENCY PLANS,
CONDUCT TRAINING SESSIONS,
PROMOTE PUBLIC EDUCATION,
OVERSEE PUBLIC ALERT SYSTEMS,
AND DISSEMINATE REAL TIME
INFORMATION DURING EMERGENCIES
THROUGH THE CALIFORNIA STATE
WARNING CENTER. DURING RESPONSE
OPERATIONS, OUR TEAMS OPERATE
FROM THE STATE OPERATIONS CENTER
AND COORDINATE MUTUAL AID AND
RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS THROUGHOUT
THE STATE. FOLLOWING RESPONSE
OPERATIONS, WE COORDINATE POSTS
DISASTER RECOVERY EFFORTS, OUR
FOCUS IS ON RESTORING
COMMUNITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE
AND PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO
AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS AND
BUSINESSES. OUR GOAL IS TO
RESTORE OUR COMMUNITIES AND
IMPROVE THEIR RESILIENCE TO
FUTURE DISASTERS. SO WE ALL KNOW
EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS COMPLEX.
IT'S CHALLENGING DUE TO ITS
UNPREDICTABLE NATURE OF
DISASTERS. DURING EMERGENCY TIME
IS OF THE ESSENCE. WE RELY ON
TECHNOLOGY TO HELP US SIFT
THROUGH DATA WE COLLECT FROM
VARIOUS AGENCIES AND
ORGANIZATIONS. THE GOAL IS TO
ENSURE DIRECT REWARD IN OUR
STATE AGENCY. PARTNERS HAVE
ACCESS TO THE SAME INFORMATION
TO MAKE TIMELY AND EFFECTIVE
DECISIONS, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL
YEARS, WE'VE MADE WE'VE INVESTED
IN MODERNIZING OUR INFORMATION
SYSTEMS. THESE ENHANCEMENTS HAVE
BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN REAL TIME
INFORMATION SHARING AND
ENHANCING OUR SITUATIONAL
AWARENESS. DURING EMERGENCIES.
SINCE THE GOVERNOR'S I EXECUTIVE
ORDER WAS RELEASED, OUR
CALLOWAY'S DATA AND ANALYTICS
TEAM HAS FOCUSED ON TRAINING,
STREAMLINING PROCESSES,
PROCESSES, AND ENSURING THAT OUR
DATA IS PREPARED TO ADOPT AI
TECHNOLOGIES, AT PRESENT, WE
HAVE NOT ADOPTED ANY AI
DEPENDENT WORKFLOWS IN OUR
RESPONSE EFFORTS. HOWEVER, WE
HAVE EXPLORED AND EVALUATED
SEVERAL USE CASES INVOLVING THE
DECLARATION PROCESS, ANALYZING
CATASTROPHIC PLANS, AND
STREAMLINING THE FEMA APPEALS
AND ARBITRATION PROCESS. I'M
GOING TO TOUCH A LITTLE BIT MORE
ON THOSE THOSE USE CASES, FOR
THE USE CASES WE EVALUATED, WE
TOOK A SAFETY FIRST APPROACH. WE
ESTABLISHED THREE PILLARS FOR
THE SAFE AND SECURE USE OF AI
ONE, ENSURING OUR RESEARCH ONLY
OCCURRED IN CLOSED ENVIRONMENTS,
NOT OPEN TO THE INTERNET. TWO,
WE EXCLUDED USING CLASSIFIED
PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE
INFORMATION AND ANY OTHER
SENSITIVE OR PRIVATE DATA. AND
THEN THREE, WE ENSURED THAT WE
HAD A HUMAN IN THE MIDDLE THAT
ENSURED THAT STAFF RETAINED ALL
DECISION MAKING AUTHORITY. OUR
INITIAL APPROACH WAS TO TARGET
LOW RISK, BUT HIGH IMPACT AREAS
FOR OUR INITIAL EVALUATION AND
ALIGNING THESE EFFORTS WITH
BROADER SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY
GOALS. WE USED AI TO EVALUATE
DISASTER ASSISTANCE APPEALS
PENDING FEMA REVIEW. WE LOOKED
AT THE HISTORICAL TRENDS OF
SUCCESSFUL APPEALS IN THE PAST
AND IDENTIFIED ATTRIBUTES THAT
INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF
SUCCESS FOR CALIFORNIA
APPLICANTS, PARTICULARLY FOR OUR
COMMUNITIES. WE ADDRESSED THE
MANUAL AND TIME SENSITIVE, TIME
INTENSIVE PROCESS FOR COLLECTING
DATA FOR THE DISASTER
DECLARATION PROCESS, WHICH
TYPICALLY TAKES 36 TO 72 HOURS,
BY INTEGRATING AI, WE'VE REDUCED
THAT COMPLETION TIME BY 20%.
ENHANCING OUR RESPONSIVENESS IN
CRITICAL SITUATIONS. OUR INITIAL
RESULTS RESULTS ARE ENCOURAGING,
AND WE WILL AND WE ARE
CONSIDERING OTHER USE CASES IN
THE FUTURE. THIS INCLUDES FIRUS,
WHICH IS OUR CAL FIRE INTEGRATED
REAL TIME INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM.
WE CONDUCT INCIDENT AERIAL
MAPPING WITH VIRUS AND PLAN TO
EXPLORE AUTOMATING THAT ANALYSIS
OF THOSE IMAGES THAT COME IN
THROUGH OUR THROUGH OUR
AIRCRAFT, DEPLOYING REAL TIME
LANGUAGE TRANSLATION SERVICES AT
OUR DISASTER RECOVERY CENTERS.
UTILIZING ALSO AI FOR IN-DEPTH
ANALYSIS OF OUR CATASTROPHIC
PLANS, IDENTIFY GAPS AND
REINFORCE COMPLIANCE ACROSS
PLANNING, PREPAREDNESS AND
PREVENTION, AND IMPROVING THE
EFFICIENCIES AND ACCURACY OF OUR
TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF THE GRANTS
PROCESS, THROUGH AI DRIVEN,
ANALYSIS. SO IN CONCLUSION, AS
AI CONTINUES TO ADVANCE ITS
INTEGRATION WITHIN THE EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT DOMAIN IS INEVITABLE.
AND IT'S ESSENTIAL IT IS, AT
OHS, WE ARE COMMITTED TO
DEEPENING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF
AI TECHNOLOGIES AND EXPLORING
INNOVATIVE WAYS TO SAFELY
INCORPORATE THEM INTO OUR
OPERATIONS, ENSURING THEY BRING
SUBSTANTIAL BENEFITS WHILE
UPHOLDING THE HIGHEST SAFETY AND
SECURITY STANDARDS. I APPRECIATE
YOUR ATTENTION, AND THIS TIME
THIS AFTERNOON, I'M AVAILABLE TO
ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING
OUR INITIATIVES OR ANY OTHER
FUTURE DIRECTION IN USING A.I.
AI TO ENHANCE OUR EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT. THANK YOU. THANK
YOU, MR. CRUZ. FINALLY, WE HAVE
PHILIP SEELIG, THE CHIEF
INTELLIGENCE AT THE CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE
PROTECTION. MR. SEELIG, WHEN
YOU'RE READY. ALL RIGHT. WELL
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR RODRIGUEZ.
SENATOR DODD AND MEMBERS OF THE
COMMITTEES. MY NAME IS PHILIP
SEELIG, AND I'M THE STAFF CHIEF
OF THE FIRE INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM
FOR CAL FIRE. SO THANK YOU FOR
THE OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY TODAY
AND THE TOPIC OF HOW CAL FIRE IS
LEVERAGING AI FOR EFFECTIVE
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND
RESPONSE. WE ARE LEVERAGING THE
POWER OF AI IN SEVERAL KEY
AREAS, INCLUDING WILDFIRE
DETECTION AND MONITORING,
PREDICTION AND WILDFIRE
BEHAVIOR. WILDFIRE SPREAD
MODELING I'D LIKE TO BEGIN BY
TAKING BY TALKING ABOUT WILDFIRE
DETECTION AND MONITORING. IN
JULY OF 2023, CAL FIRE AND UCSD
ALERT CALIFORNIA PROGRAM
ANNOUNCED AN ONGOING CUTTING
EDGE PARTNERSHIP USING AI TO
EXPEDITE FIRE DETECTION AND
PROVIDE REAL TIME FIRE
MONITORING TO ASSIST IN DECISION
MAKING. THIS PARTNERSHIP
UTILIZES THE NETWORK OF CAL
ALERT, CALIFORNIA'S HIGH
DEFINITION HIGH RESOLUTION
IMAGERY. PAN TILT ZOOM CAMERAS
THAT PROVIDE 24 HOUR PERSISTENT
COVERAGE AND CAN SWEEP 360
DEGREES EVERY TWO MINUTES OF THE
ALMOST 1100 CAMERAS, CAL FIRE
SPONSORS 208 OF THEM. THIS NEW
AI TOOL IS ROLLED OUT TO US AND
CAL FIRE IN LATE SUMMER OF 2023,
AND ANALYZES CAMERA FEEDS ACROSS
CALIFORNIA FOR ANOMALIES. IF AN
ANOMALY IS DETECTED, THE CAL
FIRE EMERGENCY COMMAND CENTER
AND FIRST RESPONDERS ARE
NOTIFIED OF A POTENTIAL FIRE,
SOMETIMES EVEN MINUTES BEFORE
THE FIRST 911 PHONE CALL HAS
BEEN RECEIVED. FOR EXAMPLE,
BETWEEN SEPTEMBER THE 1ST AND
DECEMBER 31ST, WE THERE WERE 278
DISPATCHES FOR WILDLAND FIRES.
OF THOSE, THE ALERT CALIFORNIA
AI DETECTION ALERTED 190 OF
THOSE FIRES. AT THE SAME TIME,
IF NOT BEFORE A 911 PHONE CALL
WAS RECEIVED AND AT LEAST SIX OF
THOSE FIRES NØ 911 CALL WAS EVER
RECEIVED DURING THE EARLY DURING
THE EARLY DETECTION OF ALL OF
THESE FIRES, THEY WERE KEPT
UNDER ONE ACRE. THE UTILIZATION
OF THE AI AND FIRE DETECTION
EXEMPLIFIES BY SYSTEMS LIKE
ALERT CALIFORNIA MARKS A
TRANSFORMATIVE STEP IN OUR EARLY
WILDFIRE IDENTIFICATION AND
RESPONSE. THE ALERT CALIFORNIA
IMPLIES EMPLOYEES THAT AI
ALGORITHMS TO ANALYZE DATA FROM
A NETWORK OF STRATEGICALLY
PLACED CAMERAS THAT MONITOR FIRE
PRONE AREAS CONTINUOUSLY. THESE
AI ENABLED SYSTEMS ARE CAPABLE
OF DETECTING SMOKE AND FLAME
WITH HIGH ACCURACY,
SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING THE TIME
BETWEEN THE IGNITION AND THE
DETECTION BY PROCESSING REAL
TIME VIDEO FEEDS, THE AI
ALGORITHMS CAN IDENTIFY FIRE
INDICATORS MORE QUICKLY AND
RELIABLY THAN THE TRADITIONAL
HUMAN MONITORING. EVEN IN
CHALLENGING CONDITIONS SUCH AS
LOW VISIBILITY AND OR AT NIGHT
TIME. THE EARLY DETECTION
CAPABILITY IS CRUCIAL FOR
INITIATING RAPID RESPONSE
EFFORTS. THEREFORE MINIMIZING
THE POTENTIAL SPREAD AND IMPACT
OF WILDFIRES. INTEGRATING SUCH
ADVANCED DETECTION SYSTEM WITH
PREDICTIVE MODELS ENHANCES THE
OVERALL WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT,
ENABLING A SWIFT TRANS
TRANSITION FROM DETECTION TO
STRATEGIC RESPONSE AND RESOURCE
ALLOCATION. CAL FIRE ALSO USES
AI TO HELP PREDICT WILDFIRE
BEHAVIOR. TWO TRADITIONAL
METHODS OF WILDFIRE PREDICTION
HAVE RELIED HEAVILY ON
HISTORICAL DATA AND BASIC MODELS,
WHICH OFTEN FALL SHORT OF
ACCOUNTING FOR COMPLEX AND
DYNAMIC NATURE OF FIRE BEHAVIOR.
IN 2019, CAL FIRE REQUEST FOR
INNOVATIVE IDEAS RFI SQUARED,
MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH GOVERNOR
NEWSOM'S EXECUTIVE ORDER N 419,
LOOK TO FIND A COMPREHENSIVE
SOLUTION THAT COULD EVALUATE
FIRE BEHAVIOR AT THE RISK
STATEWIDE TO SUPPORT
PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE TECH
NHÀ SILVA, WHICH IS A GIS BASED
COMPANY SPECIALIZING IN FIRE
PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS SOLUTIONS
AND FIRE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT,
WAS SELECTED AMONGST THE 131
PROPOSALS. AN INTRINSIC PART OF
THE SOLUTION IS THE WILDFIRE
ANALYST. WILDFIRE ANALYSTS
INCLUDES EXTENSIVE USE OF AI AND
MACHINE LEARNING MACHINE
LEARNING TO SUPPORT THIS
CHALLENGING MODELING, WHICH
NEEDS A VAST AMOUNT OF DATA AND
IN REAL TIME TO ENABLE MORE
ACCURATE AND TIMELY PREDICTIONS.
BY LEVERAGING THE WILDFIRE
ANALYST SOLUTION, WE CAN ENHANCE
OUR ABILITY TO FORECAST FIRE
SPREAD INTENSITY AND IMPACT,
ULTIMATELY IMPROVING RESPONSE
STRATEGIES AND MINIMIZE DAMAGE.
THE AI AND MACHINE LEARNING
ALGORITHMS CAN PROCESS AND
INTEGRATE DIVERSE DATA SETS,
INCLUDING WEATHER CONDITIONS,
TOPOGRAPHY, FUEL
CHARACTERISTICS, AND SATELLITE
IMAGERY. THESE ALGORITHMS CAN
IDENTIFY PATTERNS AND
CORRELATIONS THAT MAY NOT BE
APPARENT THROUGH OTHER
CONVENTIONAL ANALYSIS. FOR
INSTANCE, THE MACHINE LEARNING
MODELS CAN BE TRAINED TO
RECOGNIZE THE INFLUENCE OF
SPECIFIC VARIABLES OF FIRE
BEHAVIOR, SUCH AS THE EFFECT OF
NGUYEN ON FIRE SPREAD OR THE
IMPACT OF HUMIDITY LEVELS ON
FUEL. MOISTURES A LIST OF AI
POWER MODELS INSIDE THE WILDFIRE
ANALYST INCLUDES IMPROVEMENTS ON
THREE KEY AREAS OF THE FIRE
BEHAVIOR TRIANGLE FUELS, WEATHER
AND TERRAIN. THE THREE
COMPONENTS ARE BASIC INPUTS TO
THE COMPUTER. FIRE MODELS USED
TO CALCULATE WILDFIRE RISK UP TO
FIVE DAYS IN ADVANCE THROUGH THE
STATE. THE INTEGRATION OF CAL
FIRE DATA INTO THE WILDFIRE
ANALYST EXEMPLIFIES THE BENEFITS
OF THIS APPROACH. BY
INCORPORATING EXTENSIVE
OBSERVATIONAL DATA ON CONDITIONS
LEADING TO DIFFERENT FIRE
BEHAVIORS. THE MODELS CAN BE
FINELY TUNED TO REFLECT REAL
WORLD SCENARIOS AND MORE
ACCURATELY, RESULTING IN MORE
RELIABLE PREDICTIONS. MOREOVER,
THE PREDICTIVE POWER OF AI AND
MACHINE LEARNING EXTENDS BEYOND
THE IMMEDIATE FIRE BEHAVIOR TO
ASSESSING LONG TERM FIRE RISK BY
ANALYZING HISTORICAL FIRE DATA
ALONGSIDE CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCERNS, THESE TECHNOLOGIES
IDENTIFY AREAS OF HIGHER RISK
FOR FUTURE FIRES. CONSEQUENTLY,
AI, MACHINE LEARNING NOT ONLY
ENHANCE THE ABILITY TO RESPOND
TO ACTIVE FIRES, BUT ALSO
CONTRIBUTE TO REDUCING THE
LIKELIHOOD AND SEVERITY OF
FUTURE WILDFIRES. FOSTERING A
MORE RESILIENT AND PREPARED
LANDSCAPE. INTEGRATING CAL FIRE
DATA INTO A PREDICTIVE MODEL
LIKE THE WILDFIRE ANALYST
ENSURES THAT PREDICTIONS ARE
GROUNDED IN A COMPREHENSIVE
UNDERSTANDING OF LOCAL FIRE
DYNAMICS, FURTHER BOLSTERING THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF FIRE MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIES. THIS INNOVATIVE
APPROACH, IN COLLABORATION WITH
ACADEMIA INDUSTRY PARTNERS, HAS
POSITIONED THE DEPARTMENT AS A
WORLD LEADER IN ADOPTING,
VALIDATING AND OPERATIONALIZING
THESE TRANSFORMATIVE TOOLS. CAL
FIRE IS ACTIVELY COLLABORATING
IN THE ADOPTION OF THESE
ADVANCEMENTS, NOT ONLY IN
PARTNER PARTNERING AGENCIES
LOCALLY, BUT THROUGHOUT THE
STATE, NATIONALLY AND EVEN
INTERNATIONALLY. I WOULD ALSO
LIKE TO NOTE THAT CAL FIRE'S
OFFICE OF THE WILDLAND FIRE
TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT,
CREATED THROUGH SB 109, AUTHORED
BY SENATOR DODD IN 2021, SERVES
AS THE STATE'S CENTRAL
ORGANIZING HUB TO IDENTIFY
EMERGENCY EMERGING WILDFIRE
TECHNOLOGIES. WE ARE COMMITTED
TO REVIEWING NEW WILDFIRE
TECHNOLOGY IDEAS FROM OUTSIDE
THE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING THE
USE OF AI WITHIN THE PARAMETERS
OUTLINED WITHIN THE GOVERNOR'S
EXECUTIVE ORDER IN 1223 ON
GENERATIVE AI USE IN CLOSING THE
AI TECHNIQUES AND METHODOLOGIES
LEVERAGED BY THE DEPARTMENT ARE
USED IN DIFFERENT SCENARIOS TO
SUPPORT THE MISSION TO KEEP
CALIFORNIANS AND OUR LANDSCAPE
SAFE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. I
LOOK FORWARD TO ANSWERING ANY
QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU, MR. SEELIG, AND THE
REST OF THE PANEL FOR YOUR
TESTIMONY. NOW, WE'LL OPEN IT UP
FOR QUESTIONS. ANY QUESTIONS
FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS? NO NO.
QUESTIONS. ASSEMBLY MEMBER. YOU
HAD A QUESTION. GO AHEAD. YES,
MR. CHAIR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE
PRESENTATIONS. I THINK THAT EACH
OF THE PRESENTATIONS REALLY
POINTED OUT A VERY ENCOURAGING,
TREND IN THE USE OF AI TO
IMPROVE CALIFORNIA'S EMERGENCY
RESPONSE. MISS HUBBARD DESCRIBED
THE USE OF AI REALLY ELEGANTLY
ABOUT FINDING A CREATIVE NEW
PUBLIC ACCESS AND ENGAGEMENT
TOOLS, MR. CRUZ SPOKE
SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE NEW THE
COST SAVINGS THAT ARE GENERATED
BY DOING REPETITIVE TASKS AND
BEING ABLE TO USE HUMANS MORE
EFFICIENTLY. AND MR. SELIG
SELIG, SPOKE VERY ELOQUENTLY
ABOUT HOW THE POTENTIAL FOR
MITIGATING DISASTERS AND FIRES
THAT COULD GET OUT OF CONTROL
WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO PROCESS
ALL OF THAT INFORMATION. SO WHAT
IS WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE NEXT
INCREMENT OF THIS TOOL, EACH OF
YOU, YOU KNOW, COME AT THIS FROM
A VERY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
HOW DO YOU SEE THE MOST
OPPORTUNITY FOR USING AI IN THE
NEXT YEAR OR TWO IN YOUR
INDIVIDUAL SPHERES OF INTEREST?
I CAN TAKE THAT. NOT BEING ABLE
TO. OKAY. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD
MA'AM. THANK YOU. ASSEMBLY
MEMBER HART, I THINK, WHERE WE
REALLY SEE POTENTIAL IS HOW WE
CAN SUPPORT OUR ACCESS AND
FUNCTIONAL NEEDS. COMMUNITY AND
OUR MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITY
MEMBERS. SO HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE
AI, TO DEVELOP NEW TOOLS AND
RESOURCES TO HELP THOSE
COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE MOST
VULNERABLE? IS THAT THAT WE CAN
CREATE PROCESSES THAT HELPS THEM
GO THROUGH THE VERY COMPLEX FEMA
PROCESS. MAYBE WE CAN DEVELOP
CONCEPTS THAT SUPPORT THEM
THROUGH THOSE, APPLICATION
PROCESSES. THAT CAN BE VERY
DAUNTING TO A LOCAL COMMUNITY
MEMBER. HOW CAN WE COMMUNICATE
WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO
MAY BE NOT HAVE MAY NOT HAVE
TRADITIONAL LANGUAGE OR
ACCESSIBILITY CONCEPTS,
ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT A LEARNING AND IMMEDIATE
LIFE SAFETY DECISION MAKING. AND
I THINK THAT HAS OUR BIGGEST
OPPORTUNITY RISK AS WELL. BUT AS
LONG AS WE DO IT IN A
COORDINATED MANNER, I THINK IT
HAS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY. THANK
YOU. THANK YOU. WITH THAT, I
MISS HUBBARD. I PROBABLY HAVE
MAYBE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION.
MAYBE I ALREADY ANSWERED SOME OF
IT. SO HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT AI
DRIVEN DECISIONS ARE TRANSPARENT
AND ACCOUNTABLE, ESPECIALLY WITH
THE IMPACT THOSE OF VULNERABLE?
POPULATIONS DURING THE DISASTER?
BECAUSE WE SEE SOMETIMES SOME OF
THOSE AREAS GET LEFT OUT, SO TO
SPEAK, RIGHT? SO HOW CAN WE MAKE
SURE THAT AI IS ADDRESSING THOSE
VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES? I THINK
THAT'S ONE OF MY BIG QUESTIONS
RIGHT NOW THAT I'VE BEEN
EXPLORING PERSONALLY WITH MY
TEAM AND WITH OTHER COUNTIES
MEMBERS THAT ARE, MY PEERS, YOU
KNOW, CAN WE USE TOOLS OR
RESOURCES THAT WE CAN PRE VET?
RIGHT. SO IS THERE A LANGUAGE AI
CONCEPT THAT WE CAN PREVENT AND
HAVE LOCAL NATIVE SPEAKERS
VERIFY THAT AS WE DO THESE
TRANSLATION ACTIONS ARE THE
TRANSLATIONS ACCURATE AND
CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE? BECAUSE
ACCURACY AND CULTURAL
APPROPRIATENESS ARE TWO
DIFFERENT CONCEPTS. AND SO
LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, CAN WE
PREVENT THESE CONCEPTS? CAN WE,
REALLY FEEL CONFIDENT IN THEM
BEFORE WE USE THEM? AND THEN
WHEN WE USE THEM, ONE OF THE
THINGS OUR COUNTY HAS AN AI
COMMITTEE AND WE'RE EXPLORING
WHAT IS OUR LEGAL BUT ALSO
ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS OR CONCEPTS
WE WANT TO CONSIDER WITH HOW WE
IDENTIFY WHAT'S CREATED OR,
DEVELOPED USING AI. DO WE NEED
TO CREATE, YOU KNOW, AN ASTERISK
AT THE BOTTOM THAT SAYS, DEVELOP
THROUGH AI? AND WE'RE REALLY
EXPLORING THAT, NOT JUST
LEGALLY, BUT ETHICALLY, TO
ENSURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY
UNDERSTANDS WHAT WE'RE USING AND
WHEN. THANK YOU, IF THERE'S NO
OTHER QUESTIONS. OH, SENATOR,
YOU HAVE A QUESTION. THANK YOU,
CHAIR RODRIGUEZ. I APPRECIATE
THE PRESENTATION. VERY
INFORMATIVE. AND I REALLY
APPRECIATED, THE COMMENT MADE,
BY, CAL OES LEADER ABOUT MAKING
SURE THERE'S A HUMAN IN THE
MIDDLE AND ENSURING, THAT THAT
IS ALWAYS HUMAN IN THE MIDDLE IS
ALWAYS THERE WHEN THERE IS HIGH
RISK, AND TRYING TO LOOK FOR LOW
RISK AREAS. I THINK THAT IS
SOMETHING THAT THE STATE I'M
GLAD TO HEAR THE STATE IS DOING.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT A
LOT OF INDUSTRIES ARE LOOKING TO,
AND CERTAINLY WORKERS WHO ARE
VERY CONCERNED, ABOUT THE IMPACT
OF AI, ON CAREERS AND ON THE
WORKFORCE. SO AS WE'RE GETTING
THIS TECHNOLOGY TO STRENGTHEN
OUR ABILITY TO TACKLE WHAT SEEMS
TO BE THESE INTRACTABLE, ISSUES
THAT ARE COMING ABOUT DUE TO
CLIMATE CHANGE, YOU KNOW, IT IS
VERY IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT,
YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE THE WORKERS
IN THIS PROCESS AND HOW THIS
TECHNOLOGY WILL AFFECT EVEN OUR
FIRST RESPONDERS, SO I HAD A
COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. ONE, MY
QUESTION, WAS TO BE PUT TO THE,
THE CHIEF INTELLIGENCE OFFICER.
TELL ME YOUR LAST NAME. I WANT
TO MAKE SURE I SAY IT CORRECTLY.
SELIG. LÀ. SELIG. THANK YOU. I
JUST HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE
WILDFIRE ANALYSTS, BECAUSE THAT
SOUNDS LIKE A POSITION TO JUST
BEFORE I DID THIS WORK, WERE
THERE, STAFF MEMBERS WHO
ACTUALLY STUDY, YOU KNOW, KIND
OF HOW THESE WILDFIRES GROW,
KIND OF WHAT IS THE CULTIVATION
OF THEM, HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW HOW
FIERCE THEY ARE? I THINK WE'VE
SEEN TECHNOLOGY, SORT OF STEP
IN, BUT WE'VE BEEN PRETTY GOOD
AT STARTING TO PREDICT AND TO
RESPOND TO FIRES IN THE STATE.
UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE WE'VE HAD
TO JUST CURIOUS, HOW DOES THIS
INTEGRATE WITH THE CURRENT SORT
OF WORK THAT IS BEING DONE
WITHIN CAL OES AND PARTICULARLY
WITHIN OUR FIRST RESPONSE? AND
FIREFIGHTERS AND ALL OF THE
EXPERTS AND ANALYSTS AND SCIENCE
BEHIND THAT, HOW DO THESE THINGS
INTEGRATE? WILL I REMOVE WHAT
MIGHT BE A CADRE OF EXPERTS WHO
HAVE BEEN IN THIS FIELD OVER
TIME, OR IS THERE A SENSE THAT
THESE THINGS WILL BE INTEGRATED,
THAT WAS MY ONE QUESTION. AND
THEN I'M REALLY APPRECIATED.
MISS HUBBARD'S POINT ABOUT
CULTURAL COMPETENCE AND, YOU
KNOW, AND WHETHER IT'S
SURVEILLING POTENTIAL WILDFIRE
AREAS AND THE PEOPLE WHO MIGHT
LIVE IN THOSE WHEN THERE ISN'T A
WILDFIRE. RIGHT. AND OR TO
MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE
TRANSLATING IN A WAY THAT
COMMUNITIES, TRUST THE MESSENGER
AND RESPOND. I'M JUST CURIOUS,
WHAT ARE THE WAYS THAT THE CAL
OES IS REALLY ADDRESSING THIS
INHERENT ISSUE OF BIAS, BOTH
RACIAL AND GENDER BIAS, THAT HAS
BEEN PRETTY FRONT AND CENTER IN
THIS TECHNOLOGY FROM THE VERY
BEGINNING, AND THEN MY FINAL
QUESTION IS JUST HOW DO WE
ENSURE WE HAVE THE ACCURATE
STAFF AT THE STATE LEVEL TO
REALLY OVERSEE AND REGULATE AND
ENSURE WE'RE PUTTING THE BEST
TOOLS FORWARD, HOW HOW WILL WE,
BRING THOSE EXPERTS ON AND ALSO,
WILL THEY HAVE SPECIALIZATION IN
THIS WHOLE ISSUE OF CULTURAL
COMPETENCY AND THE WAY THAT WE
HAVE TO ENGAGE? WHAT IS THE MOST
DIVERSE STATE IN THE UNION? SO
THOSE ARE MY THREE QUESTIONS.
AND YOU ALL FEEL FREE TO
RESPOND. SURE. I COULD TAKE THE
FIRST ONE REGARDING THE WILDFIRE
ANALYST. SO IT'S A SUITE OF
SOFTWARE THAT WE PROCURED
THROUGH THE N-4, DASH 19 THROUGH
THE REQUEST FOR INNOVATIVE
IDEAS. AND IT'S REALLY
TRANSFORMED THE WAY THAT WE HAVE
PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS AND FIRE
SPREAD PREDICTIONS. THE ORIGINAL
FIRE MODELS WERE CREATED OVER 50
YEARS AGO FROM Ã ROTHENBERG. SO
IT WAS VERY BASIC BINARY MODELS.
AND NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT A VERY
DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT, TAKING
HUNDREDS OF INPUTS IN AND BEING
ABLE TO PROCESS. SO THE SPEED OF
WHICH AI AND THE MACHINE
LEARNING HAS THE ABILITY TO
SPEED THAT DECISION MAKING UP
WITHIN THE 20S OF RESPONSE TO
TAKING OUR OUR FIRE BEHAVIOR
ANALYSTS THAT ARE TRAINED AT A
HIGHER LEVEL TO UNDERSTAND AND
INTERPRET THAT DATA, TO MAKE
ACTIONABLE OUTCOMES FOR
OPERATIONAL USE OF WHERE THE
FIRE IS GOING, WHAT IS IT GOING
TO BE AFFECTING, WHAT CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN THE PATH OF
THIS? THAT'S REALLY THE POWER OF
WHERE WE HAVE SEEN EMBRACING
THAT AI AND THAT MACHINE
LEARNING ABILITIES WITHIN THAT
SOFTWARE, SO THAT OUR PERSONNEL
THAT ARE UTILIZING IT NOT ONLY
ON A MINUTE BY MINUTE, DAILY,
WEEKLY, HOURLY BASIS, BUT THOSE
THAT ARE IN THE FIELD. SO IF YOU
WENT TO THE PARC INCIDENT NOW,
THERE WOULD BE A STAFF OF FOUR
MEMBERS THAT ARE SPECIFIC JUST
TO THE PARC FIRE THAT ARE
WORKING OFF OF THE SUITE OF
PRODUCTS FROM THE WILDFIRE
ANALYSTS THROUGH TECHNICAL. I'LL
PAUSE THERE. SURE. SO TO
TRANSLATE THAT SAME ANALYSTS
HIGHER LEVEL OF INFORMATION
COMING IN. AND SO THEIR JOB
CHANGES INTO BEING ABLE TO TAKE
THE NEW INFORMATION THAT THEY
WOULDN'T ORDINARILY HAVE ACCESS
TO AND APPLYING IT TO WHAT
THEY'RE DOING OUT IN THE FIELD.
CORRECT. THANK YOU. IN TERMS OF
THE OTHER QUESTIONS. OH, SORRY.
GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. SORRY. OKAY.
IN TERMS OF THE OTHER QUESTION
ABOUT CULTURAL COMPETENCIES AS
AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, MY
TESTIMONY IS, YOU KNOW, WE
REALLY WANTED TO LOOK AT REALLY
LOW RISK, HIGH IMPACT. I, YOU
KNOW, AS A TECHNOLOGIST, I'M
REALLY EXCITED ABOUT AI. I THINK
WE'RE ALL EXCITED. BUT SOMETIMES
WE NEED TO PAUSE AND THINK ABOUT
POTENTIALLY THE IMPACTS,
PARTICULARLY HOW IT'S GOING TO
AFFECT WHAT BIASES, MAKING SURE
IT'S FAIR, SHOWING EMPATHY. I
THINK FOR US AS EMERGENCY
MANAGERS, SOMETIMES WE GET
REALLY INTO THE RESPONSE. BUT I
THINK THE MOST IMPACTFUL THING
IS SHOWING EMPATHY TO OUR
COMMUNITIES. THEY'VE JUST BEEN
DEVASTATED BY A WILDFIRE.
WHATEVER IT MAY BE. YOU KNOW,
OUR GOAL IS TO TRY AND GET THOSE
FOLKS BACK TO WHERE THEY WERE
BEFORE DISASTER. SO I THINK
EMPATHY, TRANSPARENCY, REALLY
LOOKING AT WHAT TECHNOLOGIES ARE
REALLY GOING TO BENEFIT, BENEFIT
US. BUT AGAIN, I THINK LOW RISK,
HIGH IMPACT, AND WE'RE REALLY
TAKING THAT POSITION, MAKING
SURE THAT POLICIES IN PLACE, THE
GUARDRAILS ARE THERE. FOR US AND
FOR OUR COMMUNITIES. SO THAT'S
REALLY CRITICAL. BUT BUT IN
TERMS OF THE INTEGRATIONS, I
KNOW WITH CAL FIRE AND OUR OTHER
PARTNERS, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT
AS WELL IN TERMS WE'RE
RESPONSIVE IN TERMS OF THE DATA
WE COLLECT. SO I THINK EVEN
BEFORE THE TECHNOLOGY, I THINK
THOSE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE HAVE
NOT ONLY WITH OUR LOCAL
COUNTIES, WITH OUR STATE
PARTNERS, OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS,
THAT WE ALL OPERATE USING THE
SAME DATA. YOU KNOW, IT'S
IMPORTANT THAT WE ALL RESPOND IN
A CERTAIN WAY, AND THAT DATA IS
CRITICAL, THAT IT'S ACCURATE.
AND I THINK THAT'S SOME OF THE
BIGGEST CHALLENGES RIGHT NOW IS
A LOT OF US HAVE DIFFERENT, YOU
KNOW, I THINK ELEMENTS OF DATA
THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR US.
BUT HOW DOES THAT COLLATE
TOGETHER TO HAVE A STATEWIDE
RESPONSE? THAT'S EFFECTIVE. AND
IT'S QUICK AND RESPONSIVE AS
WELL. SO AND IF I COULD, AND I
BELIEVE IT WAS SENATOR, I THINK
THE OTHER CONSIDERATION ON
CULTURAL IS THAT THERE ARE CASES
WHERE SOME OF THE AI COMPANIES
HAVE BEEN WORKING TO CORRECT
SOME OF THEIR CULTURAL BIASES
AND ARE STILL STRUGGLING WITH
THAT. AND SO I THINK IMPORTANT
TO YOUR POINT IS THAT IN SOME OF
THE POINTS THAT ARE BEING MADE
HERE IS THAT WE CANNOT, I DON'T
THINK, FULLY REPLACE SOME OF THE
CONCEPTS THAT WE DO WITH AI.
RIGHT? WE ALWAYS WE'RE ALWAYS
GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE THAT
LOCALIZED, CULTURALLY COMPETENT,
COMMUNITY BASED REVIEW AND, AND,
AND IDENTIFICATION OF HOW WE'RE
USING THOSE RESOURCES AND CROSS
VERIFICATION OF WHAT THEY'RE
CREATING, HOW WHAT CONTENT I
MIGHT BE CREATING TO ENSURE THAT
WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE
MEETING THOSE NEEDS OF OUR
ENTIRE COMMUNITY. AND NOT JUST,
HOW THE CONTENT MIGHT BE
DEVELOPED THROUGH AI. THANK YOU.
SO WITH THAT, I WANT TO THANK
THE FIRST PANEL FOR THE VERY
INFORMATIVE INFORMATION. WE'RE
GIVEN. AI IS REALLY COMING A
LONG WAY, AND I'M SURE THE
FUTURE IS BRIGHT AND EVERYTHING
WE DO. SO WITH THAT NOW, WE'LL
TRANSITION ONTO OUR SECOND
PANEL, PANEL TWO IS A CURRENT
EFFORTS TO INTEGRATE AI IN
EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND DISASTER
MITIGATION. ON THIS PANEL WILL
FIRST BE HEARING FROM INDUSTRY
AND ACADEMIC EXPERTS. WE'LL
START WITH DOCTOR BISTRA. THE
CO-DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTER OF AI
IN SOCIETY, BASED AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA. DOCTOR, WHEN YOU'RE
READY, HELLO, DEAR CHAIR. AND
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, THANK
YOU FOR GIVING ME AN
OPPORTUNITY. WHEN YOU'RE READY
TO SPEAK TODAY. YES. CAN YOU
HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU.
OKAY. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU FOR
GIVING ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO
SPEAK TODAY ON LEVERAGING AI FOR
EFFECTIVE EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS. AND RESPONSE. MY
NAME IS BISTRA. I'M AN ASSOCIATE
PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA AND THE CO-DIRECTOR
FOR THE USC CENTER FOR AI AND
SOCIETY. THE CENTER FOR AI IN
SOCIETY WAS FOUNDED IN 2016 AND
IS A UNIQUE COLLABORATION
BETWEEN THE USC SCHOOL OF
ENGINEERING AND THE USC SCHOOL
OF SOCIAL WORK, AND IT ADVANCES
THE SCHOLARSHIP AND APPLICATION
OF AI FOR THE WELL-BEING OF
VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES THROUGH
PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY
STAKEHOLDERS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND
POLICY MAKERS. TODAY, I'M HERE
TO HIGHLIGHT ONE OF OUR
SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS
RELATED TO DISASTER MITIGATION
PLANNING. THE PROJECT WAS
SPONSORED AND FUNDED BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
DIRECTORATE AND ITS OFFICE OF
UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS. THROUGH THE
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
RESILIENCE INSTITUTE AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, WHICH IS A DHS
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
DIRECTORATE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE.
SO DISASTER DAMAGE TO CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURES CAN HAVE
EXTREMELY DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS,
HIGHLIGHTING THE NEED FOR
STRATEGIC PRE-DISASTER
MITIGATION PLANNING THAT MAKES
THESE INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORKS
MORE RESILIENT AND MINIMIZES
NEGATIVE IMPACTS WHEN FAILURES
OCCUR. THIS PROJECT LEVERAGED
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE METHODS,
INCLUDING PLANNING AND
OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHMS, TO
DEVELOP STATE OF THE ART
TECHNIQUES TO FIND TARGETED
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, DISASTER
MITIGATION PLANS AI IS A BROAD
TECHNOLOGY AREA THAT INCLUDES
PREDICTIVE AND FORECASTING
MODELS THAT CAN BE USED, FOR
EXAMPLE, TO PREDICT HURRICANE
TRAJECTORIES OR DETECT WILDFIRES
IN SATELLITE IMAGES. IT INCLUDES
GENERATIVE AI, WITH ITS RECENT
RISE IN SUCCESSES AND IMPACTS IN
TEXT, IMAGE AND VIDEO
GENERATION, AND FINALLY, AI
METHODS THAT FOCUS ON SOLVING
HARD RESOURCE ALLOCATION
PROBLEMS WITH COMPLEX
CONSTRAINTS AND OBJECTIVES.
OBJECTIVES TO MAXIMIZE THIS
THIRD TYPE OF AI IS WHAT OUR
PROJECT UTILIZES. WATER
INFRASTRUCTURE IS CRITICAL AS IT
PROVIDES ACCESS TO DRINKING
WATER, FUNCTIONING OF FIRE
DEPARTMENTS, HEALTHCARE, AND
OTHER IMPORTANT SERVICES THAT
ARE ESSENTIAL TO POST-DISASTER
PERIODS. HENCE PROACTIVELY
FORTIFYING WATER NETWORKS WHERE
MOST NEEDED IS ESSENTIAL TO
DEVELOP OUR SOLUTION. THE UQ
CENTER FOR ANXIETY WORKED
CLOSELY WITH THE LOS ANGELES
DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER,
THE LA DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND
POWER IS THE NATION'S LARGEST
MUNICIPAL WATER AGENCY. IT
SERVES ABOUT 4 MILLION PEOPLE,
OVER 465 SQUARE MILE SERVICE
AREA. LOS ANGELES. HAS AN
AMBITIOUS AND COMPREHENSIVE
RESILIENCE PLAN, WHICH INCLUDES
PROVISIONS TO BUILD A
SEISMICALLY RESILIENT PIPE
NETWORK. IT BASICALLY CALLS FOR
UPGRADING, TARGETED WATER PIPES
TO EARTHQUAKE RESILIENCE ONES TO
CREATE A SUB NETWORK OF PIPES
THAT WILL RESIST MOST EARTHQUAKE
RISKS AND ENSURE WATER DELIVERY
TO CRITICAL CUSTOMERS, SUCH AS
EVACUATION CENTERS, HOSPITALS
AND POLICE STATIONS. AS WELL AS
ENSURE FIRE DEPARTMENT COVERAGE
OF MOST BUILDINGS FROM.
BASICALLY FROM INTERVIEWS WITH
SEVERAL UTILITIES AND OTHER END
USERS. CURRENTLY, WHEN LONG TERM
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE MITIGATION
PLANNING IS ATTEMPTED, IT IS
LARGELY DONE THROUGH USING GIS
INFORMATION AND POSSIBLY HAZARD
RISK INFORMATION TO MANUALLY
IDENTIFY CANDIDATE PIPES FOR BY
THE ENGINEERS AND SUBJECT MATTER
EXPERTS WORKING AT THE
UTILITIES. BUT GIVEN THE
COMPLEXITY OF WATER NETWORKS,
THE SPATIALLY VARIED SEISMIC
RISK AND LOCATIONS OF CRITICAL
CUSTOMERS, AND THE LIMITED
RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR
INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES, THIS
PLANNING PROBLEM IS ACTUALLY
EXTREMELY CHALLENGING, AND IT'S
CURRENTLY ADDRESSED IN AN AD HOC
MANNER. BASICALLY, WHAT IS
LACKING IS THE ABILITY TO
GENERATE SERVICE ZONE LEVEL
MASTER PLANS OR OF
INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES THAT
WILL PROVIDE THE NEEDED SYSTEM
WIDE RESILIENCE CONNECTIVITY. SO
THIS MITIGATION PLANNING PROBLEM
IS ACTUALLY NOT UNIQUE TO LÀ,
BUT IS FACED BY MANY CITIES
ACROSS THE US EXPOSED TO
EARTHQUAKE RISKS. SO USC
DESIGNED THIS AI BASED TOOL
BASED ON SCALABLE RESOURCE
ALLOCATION METHODS, WHICH WAS
CAPABLE OF GENERATING OPTIMIZED
SERVICE ZONES OR EVEN DISTRICT
SCALE MASTER PLANS, AND TAKES
INTO ACCOUNT COMMUNITY HAZARD
IMPACTS, RESILIENCE NEEDS,
ECONOMIC COSTS, AND SPATIAL AND
NETWORK DEPENDENCIES. I WANT TO
EMPHASIZE THAT THE NEED, METRICS
AND APPROACHES WERE CLOSELY
DEFINED IN COLLABORATION WITH
OUR MAIN PARTNER, THE LA
DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER,
AND WAS PILOTED WITH THEIR
INFRASTRUCTURE, DATA AND
SPECIFICATIONS. WE DELIVERED
OPTIMIZED MITIGATION PLANS FOR
THE WHOLE LADWP SERVICE AREA,
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT WE
DID IS WE GAVE THEM A TOOL AND
WE TRAINED IN-HOUSE ENGINEERS TO
USE IT SO THEY CAN UPDATE
INFRASTRUCTURE, INFORMATION,
COST NEEDS AND RERUN THE
PLANNING TOOL ITERATIVELY. AND
AS NEEDED. IT IS REALLY MEANT TO
SERVE AS A DATA DRIVEN DECISION
SUPPORT TOOL THAT CAN PROVIDE
SUGGESTED MITIGATION UPGRADES
THAT CAN THEN BE FURTHER REFINED
WITH LOCAL KNOWLEDGE, ADDITIONAL
ENGINEERING AND LOCATIONAL
CONSTRAINTS, AND BE MORPHED INTO
ACTIONABLE MITIGATION. I HOPE
THAT THIS WORK WILL SERVE AS A
STARTING POINT FOR FURTHER
ADOPTION BY OTHER
MUNICIPALITIES. IN THE COURSE OF
THIS PROJECT, WE CONSULTED WITH
FEMA REGION NINE, THE EAST BAY
MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT, THE
METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, THE SEATTLE
PUBLIC UTILITIES, KUBOTA
MEMBRANE USA, WHICH IS A
MANUFACTURER OF WATER PIPES AND
WATER ENGINEERING CONSULTING
FIRMS. IN CLOSING, LOS ANGELES
IS USE OF AI TO INFORM WATER
INFRASTRUCTURE. DISASTER
MITIGATION PLANNING ILLUSTRATES
THE POTENTIAL THAT IS UNLOCKED
BY ACADEMIC, PUBLIC SECTOR
PARTNERSHIP IN HARNESSING THE
MOST UP TO DATE CAPABILITIES OF
AI AND OPTIMIZATION IN THE
CONTEXT OF DISASTER MITIGATION
PLANNING, AND SO CAN HELP
ACHIEVE BETTER EFFECTIVENESS AND
SPARE HUMAN AND ECONOMIC COSTS
WHEN FUTURE DISASTERS INEVITABLY
OCCUR. THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION AND I'M HAPPY TO
ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU
DOCTOR, NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM
DOCTOR. WE HAVE DOCTOR BRIAN
D'AGOSTINO, THE VICE PRESIDENT
OF WILDFIRE AND CLIMATE SCIENCE
AT SAN DIEGO GAS AND ELECTRIC,
WHEN YOU'RE READY, SIR.
COMMITTEE CHAIR, COMMITTEE
MEMBERS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE. AS
YOU AS YOU HEARD, I'M THE VICE
PRESIDENT OF WILDFIRE AND
CLIMATE SCIENCE FOR SGA. BUT
ALSO A METEOROLOGIST, FOR THE
ORGANIZATION WHERE I'VE BEEN
KIND OF HELPING TO ADVANCE THE
WEATHER PROGRAM FOR THE LAST 15
YEARS. AND I HAS HAD A BIG PART
OF THAT. I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON
THREE AREAS TODAY. ONE IS PUBLIC
SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF AND HOW WE
LOOK AT AI AND HOW IT HELPS US
ANTICIPATE, PREPARE AND RECOVER
FROM PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUT
OFF. I'M ALSO GOING TO LOOK AT
THE ALERT CAMERAS, AND HOW WE
USE THOSE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY.
WE WERE VERY PROUD TO BRING THAT
NETWORK TO CALIFORNIA BACK IN
2017. AS THE ALERT SGA NETWORK,
SO WE'VE HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE
WITH THE CAMERA NETWORK AND
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND THEN
ALSO GOING TO LOOK AT DRONES AND
HOW WE TAKE THE IMAGES FROM
DRONES, AND THEN DO INTELLIGENT
IMAGE PROCESSING, TO GIVE US A
LOT OF INTEL ON OUR CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE. BUT STARTING OFF
FIRST WITH PUBLIC SAFETY POWER
SHUT OFF OF COURSE, HUGE IMPACTS
TO OUR REGION. I FIRST COMES IN
4 TO 7 DAYS BEFORE WE IMPLEMENT
A PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF
THROUGH THE ASSESSMENTS OF FUEL
MOISTURES TRYING TO IDENTIFY HOW
SEVERE THE FIRE POTENTIAL
ACTUALLY IS GOING TO BE, SO
THAT'S WHERE IT FIRST GETS
INTRODUCED TO THAT, THEN BY THE
TIME WE GET WITHIN 96 HOURS. SO
IN THAT 3 TO 4 DAY PERIOD, AI IS
FIRST TELLING US WHAT IS THE
PEAK WIND GUST THAT WE ARE GOING
TO SEE IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD IN
SAN DIEGO, IT DOESN'T REPLACE
WHAT OUR METEOROLOGISTS DO. I
THINK TO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS
WE HAD EARLIER, BUT IT GIVES THE
METEOROLOGISTS A NEW ELEMENT OF
TOOLS, ALLOWS THEM TO BE MORE
GRANULAR, MORE SPECIFIC, HYPER
LOCALIZED ON WHAT NEIGHBORHOODS
COULD POTENTIALLY SEE PUBLIC
SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF. NOW, THIS
GIVES US THE ABILITY THREE DAYS
IN ADVANCE TO NOTIFY FIRE
AGENCIES, COMMUNITY LEADERS,
FOLKS IN KIND OF WHO HAVE A VERY
VESTED INTEREST IN SUPPORTING
THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THIS
EVENT, AND THEN BY THE TIME WE
GET TO 48 HOURS, IT GIVES US
ENOUGH TO CALL EVERY CUSTOMER
WHO COULD POTENTIALLY EXPERIENCE
A PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF.
BY THE TIME WE GET INTO THE
EVENT ITSELF. AND THIS IS WHERE
A LOT OF OUR AI IS GROWING RIGHT
NOW, IT'S DOING THE REAL TIME
ANALYSIS BETWEEN WILDFIRE RISK
AND PUBLIC SAFETY. POWER SHUT
OFF RISK. SO AI IS NOW STARTING
TO TELL US WHAT IS THE
LIKELIHOOD OF A FAILURE ON THE
ELECTRIC SYSTEM? WHAT'S THE
PROBABILITY OF VEGETATION AND
TREES BLOWING INTO THE SYSTEM.
AND AI IS HELPING US WITH THOSE
CALCULATIONS. AND THEN THAT CAN
INFORM INTO MAKING THOSE
DECISIONS OF DO WE IMPLEMENT A
PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF, OR
NOT, BUT VERY IMPORTANTLY, WE'VE
HEARD A LOT ABOUT THAT COMMUNITY
VULNERABILITY RIGHT NOW. IT ALSO
IS HELPING US UNDERSTAND WHAT IS
THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
POWER SHUT OFF ON A COMMUNITY SO
THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THOSE RISKS
SIDE BY SIDE AND MAKE VERY
INFORMED DECISIONS, BEFORE
MOVING ON FROM THE WILDFIRE RISK
MODELING, THIS IS AN AREA THAT
WE'VE FOCUSED A LOT ON, WE HAVE
JUST OPENED A WILDFIRE IN
CLIMATE RESILIENCE CENTER WITHIN
SGA, WHICH HOUSES OUR EMERGENCY
OPERATIONS CENTER. BUT IT
ACTUALLY HOUSES A NEW LAB WHERE
WE SPECIFICALLY LOOK AT WILDFIRE
RISK AND AI IMPLICATIONS THERE.
SO THAT'S AN AREA OF, YOU KNOW,
DIRECT FOCUS, FOR US AT SGA. AND
THEN IT'S ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT
AS WE'RE COMING OUT OF A PUBLIC
SAFETY POWER, SHUT OFF,
MINIMIZING THAT IMPACT IS
UNDERSTANDING WHEN THOSE WINDS
ARE GOING TO DROP TO A POINT
THAT HELICOPTERS CAN GET IN THE
AIR QUICKLY. AND IF YOU'RE READY
TO START THAT INSPECTION, AS
SOON AS THOSE WINDS GO DOWN, YOU
CAN REALLY START TO MINIMIZE THE
IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITY. AI IS
HELPING OUR METEOROLOGY TEAM SAY
EXACTLY WHEN THOSE WINDS ARE
GOING TO COME DOWN, SO THAT'S A
BIG IMPACT THERE, WE'VE HEARD A
LOT ABOUT THE CAMERA NETWORK, SO
I'LL TAKE IT A SLIGHTLY
DIFFERENT, POINT THAT
UNDERSTANDING IMPACTS TO
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
PATHWAYS, IS CRUCIAL. SO
IDENTIFYING NOT ONLY WHERE THE
FIRE IS, BUT WE'VE SEEN THE
EXTREME HEAT WAVES IMPACTING OUR
REGION. IF WE END UP LOSING
MAJOR TRANSMISSION CORRIDORS DUE
TO FIRE DURING THESE HIGH LOAD
SCENARIOS, THAT CAN INCREASE,
THE STRESS ON THE ELECTRICAL
SYSTEM. SO UNDERSTANDING VERY
EARLY AND IDENTIFYING WHERE
FIRES ARE WITH PROXIMITY TO
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS KEY,
AND THAT'S A MAJOR WAY THAT
WE'VE BEEN USING THE CAMERA
NETWORK AS WELL, THE LAST POINT
THAT I'LL BRING UP IS HOW WE USE
IT WITH DRONES. SO WE GO IN AND
WE DO RISK MODELING. AI HELPS US
WITH OUR RISK MODELING BACK TO
THE PROBABILITY OF THE SYSTEM
FAILING IN DIFFERENT AREAS. AND
IT HONES US IN INTO THE HIGHEST
RISK AREAS WITHIN SAN DIEGO
COUNTY. AND THEN WE FLY DRONES
ON THOSE HIGHEST RISK AREAS, AND
THEN WE RUN ALL OF THOSE PHOTOS
THROUGH INTELLIGENT IMAGE
PROCESSING. IT TELLS US EXACTLY
WHAT EQUIPMENT IS, WHERE IT CAN
TELL US IF THERE ARE LOOSE
BOLTS. IT CAN TELL US EVEN
THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T SEE FROM
THE GROUND, LIKE WOODPECKER
DAMAGE ON THE TOP OF THE POLES
AND, AND OTHER THINGS. SO ALL OF
THIS IS OVER TIME, WE HAD,
QUALIFIED ELECTRIC WORKERS THAT
WERE GOING THROUGH ALL THE
IMAGES, FLAGGING THEM AND
TRAINING THE MODELS AS WE WENT
ALONG. NOW WE RUN EVERYTHING
THROUGH THE MODELS AND THE
IMAGES THAT GET FLAGGED. GO BACK
TO THOSE QUALIFIED ELECTRIC
WORKERS. SO THEY'RE STILL IN THE
MIX. BUT THAT'S PART OF THE
ADVANCEMENT. SO I'LL LEAVE IT
THERE. LOOK FORWARD TO ANSWERING
ANY QUESTIONS THAT POTENTIALLY
COME UP. AND THANK YOU FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY. THANK YOU. THIRD,
NOW WE'LL HAVE, AHMAD ONE AHMED
WANI, THE CEO OF ONE CONCERN. I
BELIEVE HE IS JOINING US VIA,
PHONE REMOTELY. ARE YOU THERE?
HI, YES. CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME?
OH, THERE YOU GO. YES, WE CAN
HEAR YOU. YES. THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR HAVING ME. AND. YEAH.
REALLY, REALLY INFORMATIVE
SESSION, SO, MY NAME IS AHMAD.
I'M THE CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF A
COMPANY CALLED ONE CONCERN. ONE
CONCERN DOES THREE THINGS. MAP
ANALYZE, AND MONITOR EVERY PIECE
OF THE WORLD'S BUILT ENVIRONMENT
AND UNDERSTAND ITS CONNECTION,
TO IMPACT AND REALLY, THE GLOBAL
ECONOMY. SO, YOU KNOW, I'LL
START WITH SOME STATISTICS TO
GIVE YOU AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE
PROBLEM. WE ARE TRYING TO SOLVE.
AND IT, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE
SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE USE
CASES WHICH WE ACTUALLY, WHICH
WE ACTUALLY OPERATE UNDER HAVE
BEEN TOUCHED BY SOME OF THESE
SPEAKERS, YOU KNOW, AND ESTEEMED
GUESTS, WHICH YOU, WHICH YOU,
WHICH WE HAVE, WHICH WE HEARD
FROM, SO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF
YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, THE
LISTED COMPANIES IN THE UNITED
STATES IN THE NEW YORK STOCK
EXCHANGE TODAY, YOU KNOW, THEY
HAVE BEEN DOING CLIMATE RISK AND
PHYSICAL RISK DISCLOSURES FROM A
NUMBER OF YEARS, AND YOU KNOW,
JUST THIS LAST CALENDAR YEAR,
2023, YOU KNOW, THE US
CORPORATES LOST NORTH OF $100
BILLION IN UNINSURED BUSINESS
INTERRUPTION LOSSES. YET ZERO
COMPANIES SAID THAT PHYSICAL
RISK WAS A MATERIAL PROBLEM OR A
MATERIAL RISK FOR THEM. AND AT
THE BOTTOM OF THOSE DISCLOSURES,
PEOPLE LIKE DELOITTE AND KPMG
AND ALL THE AUDITORS SIGN AND
SAY NO MATERIALITY. SO WHEN WE
DOUBLE CLICK ON THE PROBLEM AS
TO WHY THESE THINGS, ACTUALLY
EVERYBODY GETS THAT GREEN REPORT
CARD IN TERMS OF THEIR
DISCLOSURE, WE FIND THAT, YOU
KNOW, STATUS QUO TECHNOLOGY IS
GIS AS ACTUALLY, DOCTOR WAS WAS
MENTIONING FOLKS WHAT THEY DO IS
THEY LOOK AT THEIR LOCATIONS,
WHETHER THIS IS IN A PARTICULAR
FLOOD ZONE OR IN A WILDFIRE ZONE
OR IN AN EARTHQUAKE ZONE. AND
GUESS WHAT? 99.6% OF LISTED
COMPANY LOCATIONS ARE NOT IN ANY
HIGH HAZARD ZONE. THAT NUMBER IS
99.8% FOR GOVERNMENT CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE UNITED
STATES. I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT
NUMBER FOR CALIFORNIA, BUT I'M
PRETTY SURE IT'S RIGHT UP THERE.
SO HOWEVER, WHILE WHILE THOSE
NUMBERS ARE SUPER HIGH, THEY
THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY
DIRECT EXPOSURE TO WILDFIRE RISK
OR EARTHQUAKE RISK OR FLOODS,
ETC. 95% OF THEM GET ACTUALLY
AFFECTED DURING DISASTERS BY
VIRTUE OF EXTERNALITIES, WHETHER
IT'S POWER OUTAGES, WHETHER IT'S
SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS, WATER
AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE,
FOLKS NOT BEING ABLE TO GET TO
THAT CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE,
ULTIMATELY AFFECTING THE
FUNCTION INSIDE THOSE
FACILITIES, NOT NECESSARILY THE
FACILITY ITSELF, BUT YOU'RE NOT
ABLE TO ACTUALLY OPERATE THAT
FACILITY. SO WHAT WE STARTED TO,
YOU KNOW, DO WAS RECOGNIZE THIS
PROBLEM BACK IN 2017, 2018 TIME
FRAME. AND YOU KNOW, THE YOU
KNOW, THE REALIZATION WAS THAT
THE RISK BULK OF THE RISK,
ACTUALLY MORE THAN 90% OF THE
RISK IS IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
IT'S NOT IN, YOU KNOW, THE
CRITICAL FACILITIES. AND, YOU
KNOW, HOW WE HAVE TO SOMEHOW GET
THE DATA FOR THIS INFRASTRUCTURE
TO BE ABLE TO THEN ANALYZE IT.
NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, THERE'S NO
DOWNLOAD BUTTON FOR ALL THE
WORLD'S POWER LINES AND ALL THE
WORLD'S WATER PIPES AND
TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS, ETC. SO
WE HAD TO DO IT CITY BY CITY. WE
STARTED TO DO TO DO LOCAL CITIES
IN THE US AND SEVERAL STATES. WE
COLLECTED INFORMATION FOR NORTH
OF 70 CITIES IN THE UNITED
STATES, INCLUDING MOST OF THE
LARGE METROPOLITAN AREAS,
INCLUDING L.A, SEATTLE, ETC. AND
ULTIMATELY WE CREATED, YOU KNOW,
THINK OF IT LIKE A SPIDER'S WEB,
A GRAPH. SO AS COMPARED TO A TWO
DIMENSIONAL GIS NETWORK, THINK
OF US AS LIKE A SPIDER'S WEB OF
NODES AND EDGES. EVERY FACILITY
IS A NODE, EVERY OTHER FACILITY
IS ANOTHER NODE, AND THEY'RE
CONNECTED THROUGH THOSE EDGES,
WHICH WE CALL AS DEPENDENCIES.
AND THOSE CAN BE OUR CRITICAL,
YOU KNOW, INFRASTRUCTURE
LIFELINES, WHETHER IT'S THE
WATER NETWORKS, WHETHER IT'S THE
POWER NETWORKS, WHETHER IT'S THE
INTERNET CABLES AND THE SEWER
LINES, THE TRANSPORTATION
NETWORKS. NOW, ONCE YOU HIT THIS
GRAPH WITH ANY DISTURBANCE,
WHETHER IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE OR
WHETHER IT'S A FLOOD, WHETHER
IT'S AN INCOMING HURRICANE
WITHIN THE NEXT 12 HOURS, OR
WHETHER IT'S SEA LEVEL RISE OVER
THE NEXT 30 YEARS, YOU ARE NOW
EITHER SHAKING A NODE OR
BREAKING AN EDGE, AND NOW YOU'RE
SIMULATING RIPPLE EFFECTS
SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH ORDER
EFFECTS. OUR PRODUCT IS CALLED
DOMINO BECAUSE WE ONLY FOCUS ON
THESE DOMINO EFFECTS OR RIPPLE
EFFECTS. OUR YOU KNOW, AFTER
DOING A LOT OF POCS FOR A NUMBER
OF YEARS, THIS WAS MY PHD
PROJECT BACK IN THE DAY AT
STANFORD, WE WERE ABLE TO
ACTUALLY DO OUR FIRST SORT OF
COUNTRY LEVEL, IMPLEMENTATION IN
JAPAN. SO THE YOU KNOW, WELL,
LUCKILY OR UNLUCKILY, I FOUND
MYSELF PRESENTING ON THE FLOOR
OF THE JAPANESE SENATE, YOU
KNOW, BACK IN 2020 AND THE, YOU
KNOW, IT REALLY RESONATED WITH
THEM, AND THE REASON WAS
FUKUSHIMA HAD BASICALLY THE
EXACT SAME CHARACTERISTICS, JUST
LIKE THE US CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE. IN FACT, THE
REACTOR WAS NOT INUNDATED BY THE
TSUNAMI. SO ALL THEIR MODELS
FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TOHOKU TO
SIMULATE THIS EXPLOSION WERE
FAILING. AND EVEN AFTER TEN
YEARS, THEY WERE UNABLE TO
RECREATE IT. WHAT HAD ACTUALLY
HAPPENED WAS IT WAS IT HAD
SUFFERED A POWER OUTAGE FROM
SEVERAL MILES OUT. AND THEN IT
STARTED TO GET OVERHEATED. ALL
THEY NEEDED TO DO WAS GET IN AND
HOOK IT UP TO A GENERATOR ON THE
BOTTOM FLOOR. BUT THE ROADS WERE
BLOCKED DUE TO THIS TSUNAMI,
WATERS. SO ESSENTIALLY THE TWO
DEPENDENCIES THERE, WHICH FAILED
THEIR POWER AND TRANSPORTATION,
ULTIMATELY LEADING TO THAT
EXPLOSION. SO ULTIMATELY WE
BASICALLY COLLECTED A LOT OF
THIS INFORMATION FOR THE
JAPANESE MUNICIPALITIES BY
COLLABORATING WITH THE
MUNICIPAL, YOU KNOW, THE MÐI
MLIT, THE, THE MINISTRY OF
ECONOMY AND SEVERAL OTHER
AGENCIES IN JAPAN. AND THEN
ULTIMATELY THAT LED TO A
DEPLOYMENT ULTIMATELY HELPING,
YOU KNOW, THE JAPANESE, BOTH IN
TERMS OF PRIORITIZING THEIR
EMERGENCY INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGETS
AND THEN ULTIMATELY ALSO, IN
RESPONSE, THEIR EMERGENCY
INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGET IS A ¥7
TRILLION BUDGET, WHICH IS REALLY
A PLANNING BUDGET, HELPING THEM
PRIORITIZE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO
ACTUALLY TO SEVERAL OF YOU GUYS
POINTED OUT, YOU KNOW, WHICH
WATER PIPE OR WHICH
TRANSPORTATION LINE TO FIX,
WHERE DO WE WHICH POWER LINE TO
UNDERGROUND. YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT
PRIORITIZE UPGRADING AN HIGHWAY,
WHICH ULTIMATELY LEADS TO
NOWHERE AND MIGHT NOT HAVE MUCH
UTILITY. SO ULTIMATELY, DOING A
SYSTEM WIDE ANALYSIS WOULD BE
REALLY HELPFUL, TO, TO REALLY
UNDERSTAND THOSE KINDS OF, THOSE
KINDS OF SYSTEMS. SO, YOU KNOW,
SO, SO THE SYSTEM IS, IS PRETTY
STRAIGHTFORWARD. IT SIMULATES
THESE RIPPLE EFFECTS. AND IT IS
HELPFUL IN, YOU KNOW,
UNDERSTANDING WHAT COULD HAPPEN.
TWO, THREE, 4 OR 4 ORDERS OF
MAGNITUDE DOWN NOW BECAUSE IT IS
PRIMARILY BASED ON FOUNDATION
MODELS AND MACHINE LEARNING
SYSTEMS, IN ORDER TO BOTH DO
DATA SYNTHESIS AS WELL AS
RUNNING CATASTROPHE MODELS ON
TOP OF IT, WE ARE PRIMARILY OUR
FIRST USE AS WE DEVELOPED THE
US. GRAPH LAST YEAR, YOU KNOW,
HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, IN
INSURANCE. SO OUR MAIN CUSTOMERS
INCLUDE FOLKS LIKE SWISS RE AND
ZURICH AND THOSE KINDS OF PEOPLE
WHO HELP HELPING THEM DO
BUSINESS INTERRUPTION INSURANCE
BETTER. FOLKS LIKE GOLDMAN
DOING, YOU KNOW, VALUING
EQUITIES BETTER. BUT BUT I FEEL
LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE
OBVIOUSLY APPLICATIONS, IN, IN,
IN SAFETY, AND IN, YOU KNOW, AND
IN PLANNING, FROM A CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE STANDPOINT AND AS
WELL AS ALSO FROM A COMMUNITY
STANDPOINT, SO, YEAH, HAPPY TO
ANSWER ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, MR. WANI. LAST BUT
NOT LEAST, WE HAVE RAYMOND
DUMLAO, THE DIRECTOR OF STATE
AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND
EDUCATION CLOUD SALES FOR GOOGLE
CLOUD WEST REGION, WHEN YOU'RE
READY, SIR. MANY MEMBERS. OH,
THERE YOU GO. MY NAME IS RAYMOND
DUMLAO, AND I AM THE DIRECTOR OF
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR
GOOGLE CLOUD FOR THE WESTERN
REGION. THANK YOU FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY TODAY ON
GOOGLE, GOOGLE AND GOOGLE
CLOUD'S ONGOING COMMITMENT TO
LEVERAGING ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE TO IMPROVE
GOVERNMENT SERVICES AND
SPECIFICALLY FOR ENHANCING
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
CAPABILITIES. AS A GLOBAL LEADER
IN AI RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT,
GOOGLE HAS A UNIQUE
RESPONSIBILITY TO APPLY OUR
TECHNOLOGICAL TECHNOLOGICAL
EXPERTISE TO ADDRESS CRITICAL
SOCIETAL CHALLENGES, INCLUDING
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE,
AND RECOVERY. I WILL HIGHLIGHT
KEY INITIATIVES, PARTNERSHIPS
AND RESEARCH EFFORTS THAT
DEMONSTRATE OUR DEDICATION TO
HARNESSING AI'S POTENTIAL FOR
IMPROVING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
OUTCOMES. THIS INCLUDES
PROVIDING EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS,
OPTIMIZING RESOURCE ALLOCATION,
FACILITATING INFORMATION
DISSEMINATION, AND SUPPORTING
LONG TERM RECOVERY EFFORTS. WE
RECOGNIZE THAT AI IS NOT A
PANACEA, BUT WHEN DEPLOYED
RESPONSIBLY AND ETHICALLY, IT
CAN BE A POWERFUL TOOL FOR
SAVING LIVES, PROTECTING
COMMUNITIES, AND BUILDING
RESILIENCE. GOOGLE'S APPROACH TO
AI IS GUIDED BY A SET OF CORE
PRINCIPLES THAT PRIORITIZE
SOCIAL BENEFIT, SAFETY,
FAIRNESS, AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
GOOGLE CLOUD OFFERS A SUITE OF
AI POWERED TOOLS AND SERVICES
SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO SUPPORT
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES
AND ORGANIZATIONS. THESE
SOLUTIONS LEVERAGE YEARS OF
GOOGLE RESEARCH, ADVANCED
MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS, AND
VAST COMPUTATIONAL RESOURCES TO
ANALYZE DATA, PREDICT RISKS, AND
OPTIMIZE RESPONSE STRATEGIES.
BROADLY, THESE AI TOOLS CAN
OFFER EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS. THE
MODELS CAN ANALYZE REAL TIME
DATA FROM VARIOUS SOURCES, SUCH
AS WEATHER SENSORS, SOCIAL MEDIA
FEEDS, SATELLITE IMAGERY TO
DETECT EARLY SIGNS OF IMPENDING
DISASTERS. THIS ENABLES
EMERGENCY MANAGERS TO ISSUE
TIMELY WARNINGS AND ALERTS,
GIVING COMMUNITIES MORE TIME TO
PREPARE AND EVALUATE, IF
NECESSARY, RISK ASSESSMENT AND
MITIGATION. BY COMBINING
HISTORICAL DATA WITH AI DRIVEN
PREDICTIVE MODELING, WE CAN HELP
IDENTIFY RISK AREAS, HIGH RISK
AREAS FOR SPECIFIC TYPES OF
DISASTERS. THIS INFORMATION IS
CRUCIAL FOR DEVELOPING TARGETED
MITIGATION STRATEGIES SUCH AS
REINFORCING INFRASTRUCTURE,
ESTABLISHING EVACUATION ROUTES
AND PRE-POSITIONING RESOURCES.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE WORK WITH HAWAII
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO
EVALUATE THE SEA LEVEL RISE AND
HOW IT IMPACTS INFRASTRUCTURE
AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE. THIRDLY
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT IN THE
AFTERMATH OF A DISASTER,
GOOGLE'S AI TOOLS CAN QUICKLY
ANALYZE SATELLITE AND AERIAL
IMAGERY TO ASSESS THE EXTENT OF
THE DAMAGE. THIS REAL TIME
INFORMATION HELPS EMERGENCY
RESPONDERS PRIORITIZE THEIR
EFFORTS AND ALLOCATE RESOURCES
WHERE THEY ARE NEEDED THE MOST.
CRISIS COMMUNICATION DURING
EMERGENCIES, CLEAR AND EFFICIENT
COMMUNICATION IS ESSENTIAL.
GOOGLE CLOUD'S AI POWERED
CHATBOTS AND VIRTUAL AGENTS CAN
HANDLE A HIGH VOLUME OF
INQUIRIES FROM THE PUBLIC,
FREEING UP HUMAN RESPONDERS TO
FOCUS ON CRITICAL TASKS.
ADDITIONALLY GOOGLE TRANSLATE
CAN FACILITATE COMMUNICATION
WITH NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS,
ENSURING THAT EVERYONE HAS
ACCESS TO VITAL INFORMATION.
RESOURCE ALLOCATION AI
ALGORITHMS CAN OPTIMIZE AND THE
ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES SUCH AS
PERSONAL PERSONAL PERSONNEL,
EQUIPMENT, AND SUPPLIES TO
ENSURE THE MOST EFFICIENT AND
EFFECTIVE RESPONSE. THIS CAN
PARTICULARLY BE VALUABLE IN
SITUATIONS WHERE RESOURCES ARE
LIMITED AND TIME IS OF THE
ESSENCE. SPECIFICALLY, OUR
RESEARCH TEAMS ARE FOCUSING ON
THREE AREAS THAT PRODUCE
VALUABLE INSIGHTS THAT CAN BE
USED BY GOVERNMENT AT ALL LEVELS
TO SAVE LIVES. FORECASTING
FLOODS. FLOODS ARE THE MOST
COMMON NATURAL DISASTERS,
CAUSING THOUSANDS OF FATALITIES
AND DISRUPTING LIVES OF MILLIONS
EVERY YEAR. OUR FLOOD HUB
PLATFORM LEVERAGES AI AND
GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS TO DELIVER
REAL TIME FLOOD FORECASTS, AND
RECENTLY WE HAVE EXPANDED
COVERAGE TO 80 COUNTRIES,
PROVIDING FORECASTS UP TO SEVEN
DAYS IN ADVANCE FOR 460 MILLION
PEOPLE ACROSS AFRICA. THE ASIA
PACIFIC REGION, EUROPE, SOUTH
AND CENTRAL AMERICA.
ADDITIONALLY, LATE LAST YEAR, WE
ANNOUNCED THE EXPANSION OF THIS
TO THE US AND CANADA, COVERING
MORE THAN 800 LOCATIONS BY
RIVERS WHERE MORE THAN 12
MILLION PEOPLE LIVE. TRACKING
WILDFIRES. AS WILDFIRES ARE
FORTUNATELY BECOME MORE
FREQUENT. WE'RE WORKING TO
PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE
FIRES ARE AND WHERE WE ARE,
EXPLORING HOW AI CAN PREDICT
WHERE A FIRE WILL SPREAD. IN
2023, OUR SOS ALERTS HAVE
PROVIDED TIMELY SAFETY
INFORMATION TO MORE THAN 30
MILLION PEOPLE ACROSS 120
WILDFIRE EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD
TO HELP MAP FIRE FIRE
BOUNDARIES. OUR WILDFIRE
BOUNDARY TRACKER USES AI AND
SATELLITE IMAGERY TO MERGE TO
MAP LARGE FILES. FIRES IN CLOSE
TO REAL TIME, AND AN UPDATE
EVERY 15 MINUTES. THIS IS
AVAILABLE ON GOOGLE SEARCH AND
MAPS IN FIRE PRONE PARTS OF THE
US, CANADA, MEXICO AND
AUSTRALIA, AND WE'RE WORKING TO
EXPAND OUR COVERAGE IN ADDITION
TO KNOWING WHERE WILDFIRES
CURRENTLY EXIST. WHILE
FIREFIGHTERS NEED TO ANTICIPATE
WHERE THEY WILL GO AND HOW TO
MITIGATE THEM WELL BEFORE THEY
START, WE'RE COLLABORATING WITH
U.S. FOREST SERVICE TO MAKE
BIGGEST UPDATES TO OUR CURRENT
FIRE SPREAD MODEL. IN 50 YEARS.
THIS MODEL LEVERAGES MACHINE
LEARNING TO MODEL MORE FIRE
DYNAMICS TO HELP FIRE
AUTHORITIES TRAIN FIREFIGHTERS,
FIND EFFECTIVE FUEL TREATMENTS,
AND BATTLE LARGE SCALE FIRES
MORE SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY.
WHILE IN THE FIELD. RESPONDING
TO EXTREME HEAT. EXTREME HEAT
ALSO IMPACTS PUBLIC HEALTH AND
HEALTH RELATED DEATHS ARE ON THE
RISE. WE LAUNCHED EXTREME HEAT
ALERTS LAST YEAR, SO WHEN PEOPLE
SEARCH FOR INFORMATION ON
EXTREME HEAT, THEY THEY SEE
DETAILS ABOUT A HEAT WAVE IS
PREDICTED TO START AND END, TIPS
ON STAYING COOL AND RELATED
HEALTH CONCERNS TO BE AWARE FROM
GLOBAL HEALTH INFORMATION
NETWORK, CITIES ARE ALSO LOOKING
FOR WAYS TO PREVENT HEAT ISLANDS.
OUR TREE CANOPY TOOL COMBINES AI
AND AERIAL IMAGERY TO SHOW WHERE
SHADES ARE IN THE CITY, HELPING
CITIES BETTER UNDERSTAND WHERE
TO PLANT MORE TREES TO REDUCE
HEAT. ANOTHER WAY WE'RE HELPING
TO REDUCE HEAT ISLANDS IS BY
PROVIDING INSIGHTS ABOUT
REFLECTIVE ROOFS CALLED COOL
ROOFS OR COOL ROOFS. TOOL USES
AI AND AERIAL IMAGERY TO MAP OUT
THE SOLAR REFLECTIVITY OF
CITIES, SO URBAN PLANNERS AND
GOVERNMENTS CAN IDENTIFY WHICH
AREAS WOULD BENEFIT MOST FOR
DEPLOYING A COOL ROOF SOLUTION,
SUCH AS A WHITE ROOF. THE PILOT
IS NOW LIVE IN 15 CITIES, SUCH
AS NEW YORK, NASHVILLE AND
MELBOURNE. EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS
AND PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS. WE ARE
EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF AI,
AND ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING
APPLICATIONS OF AI IN EMERGENCY
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS A
DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY WARNING
SYSTEMS AND PREDICTIVE
ANALYTICS. GOOGLE CLOUD AI
PLATFORM PROVIDES TOOLS AND
INFRASTRUCTURE FOR EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AGENCIES TO DEVELOP
CUSTOM PREDICTIVE MODELS. THESE
MODELS CAN ANALYZE VAST DATA
SETS, IDENTIFY PART PATTERNS,
AND GENERATE ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS
FOR ANTICIPATING POTENTIAL
EMERGENCIES AND OPTIMIZING
RESPONSE STRATEGIES. BY
INTEGRATING AI INTO EXISTING
INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT
WORKFLOWS, WE CAN IMPROVE
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, DECISION
MAKING, AND ULTIMATELY SAVE
LIVES DURING A CRISIS. RAPID
RESPONSE AND EFFICIENT RESOURCE
ALLOCATION ARE CRUCIAL FOR
MINIMIZING DAMAGE AND SAVING
LIVES. GOOGLE IS ACTIVELY
COLLABORATING WITH EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO
DEVELOP AI POWERED TOOLS THAT
STREAMLINE THESE PROCESSES. OUR
SOS ALERTS, INTEGRATED WITH
GOOGLE SEARCH AND MAPS, PROVIDE
CRITICAL INFORMATION DURING AND
AFTER A CRISIS, INCLUDING
EVACUATION ROUTES, SHELTER
LOCATIONS, AND RELEVANT NEWS
UPDATES. ADDITIONALLY, MACHINE
LEARNING ALGORITHMS CAN ANALYZE
REAL TIME DATA ON TRAFFIC
INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE AND
RESOURCE AVAILABILITY TO
IDENTIFY OPTIMAL ROUTES FOR
EMERGENCY VEHICLES, ALLOCATE
PERSONNEL EFFECTIVELY, AND
PRIORITIZE THE DELIVERY OF
ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES BY AUTOMATING
AND ENHANCING THESE CRITICAL
DECISION MAKING PROCESSES, WE
CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE
SPEED AND EFFECTIVENESS
EFFECTIVENESS OF EMERGENCY
RESPONSE EFFORTS. EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION IS ESSENTIAL
DURING A CRISIS CRISIS, BOTH FOR
INFORMING THE PUBLIC AND
COORDINATING RESPONSE EFFORTS.
OUR PUBLIC ALERT SYSTEMS DELIVER
TIMELY AND ACCURATE ALERTS TO
INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED AREAS
THROUGH GOOGLE SEARCH AND MAPS.
ADDITIONALLY, GOOGLE CLOUD'S
NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING
CAPABILITIES ARE BEING USED TO
ANALYZE SOCIAL MEDIA DATA, NEWS
ARTICLES, AND OTHER SOURCES OF
INFORMATION TO IDENTIFY EMERGING
TRENDS, RUMORS, AND
MISINFORMATION. THIS INFORMATION
CAN BE USED TO INFORM PUBLIC
MESSAGING, ADDRESS CONCERNS, AND
COMBAT THE SPREAD OF FALSE
INFORMATION DURING A CRISIS BY
LEVERAGING AI TO ANALYZE AND
INTERPRET VAST AMOUNTS OF DATA,
WE CAN PROVIDE ACCURATE AND
RELEVANT INFORMATION TO THE
PUBLIC WHEN IT MATTERS MOST. THE
AFTERMATH OF A DISASTER OFTEN
PRESENTS SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES
FOR COMMUNITIES AS THEY STRIVE
TO REBUILD AND RECOVER. GOOGLE
IS COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING LONG
TERM RECOVERY EFFORTS THROUGH AI
POWERED TOOLS AND RESOURCES. FOR
EXAMPLE, OUR CRISIS RESPONSE
PLATFORM PROVIDES A CENTRALIZED
HUB FOR INFORMATION AND
RESOURCES RELATED TO SPECIFIC
DISASTERS, INCLUDING DONATION
OPPORTUNITIES, VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITIES, AND RECOVERY
GUIDANCE. OUR AI CAPABILITIES
ARE BEING USED TO ANALYZE
SATELLITE IMAGERY AND OTHER
GEOSPATIAL DATA TO ASSESS
DAMAGE, PRIORITIZE RECOVERY
EFFORTS, MONITOR PROGRESS OVER
TIME. THIS INFORMATION CAN BE
USED BY GOVERNMENTS AND GEOS AND
OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO ALLOCATE
RESOURCES EFFECTIVELY, IDENTIFY
VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, AND
BUILD MORE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES
IN THE FACE OF FUTURE DISASTERS.
THIS ALSO HELPS WITH CLAIMS
DAMAGE. WE HAVE WORKED ON
ASSESSING WHETHER THE DAMAGE WAS
FOR WIND OR FLOODING FOR
HURRICANES IN FLORIDA, AND WE'VE
ACTUALLY WORKED WITH CAL OES TO
ANALYZE STREET VIEW CAMERA DATA
AND ASSESS WILDFIRE DAMAGE FOR
FEMA. IN CONCLUSION, WE ARE
COMMITTED TO USING AI FOR GOOD
AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS KEY
IS A KEY AREA WHERE WE BELIEVE
TECHNOLOGY CAN MAKE A
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. WE ALSO
BELIEVE IT IS EXTREMELY
IMPORTANT TO BUILD TRUST WITH
OUR CUSTOMERS AND USERS BY
INVESTING IN RESEARCH,
DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE TOOLS AND
COLLABORATING WITH PARTNERS, WE
ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE EARLY
WARNING SYSTEMS, OPTIMIZE
RESPONSE EFFORTS, FACILITATE
COMMUNICATIONS AND SUPPORT LONG
TERM RECOVERY. WE ARE PROUD TO
BE WORKING ALONGSIDE DEDICATED
PROFESSIONALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
TO ENHANCE PUBLIC SAFETY AND
RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF
NATURAL DISASTERS AND OTHER
EMERGENCIES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR
TIME TODAY. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER
ANY QUESTIONS THE COMMITTEE MAY
HAVE. THANK YOU, MR. DUMLAO AND
THANK YOU FOR THE PANELISTS FOR
BRINGING BACK TO THE COMMITTEE
MEMBERS ANY QUESTIONS, SENATOR?
GO AHEAD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU
FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND,
REPRESENTING A SOUTH CENTRAL LOS
ANGELES, WE DON'T TOO OFTEN IN
THE CORE OF MY DISTRICT DEAL
WITH WILDFIRES. BUT I
APPRECIATED THE NODES AND THE
ANALOGY OF THE RIPPLE EFFECT.
AND THAT I GUESS THIS IS MY, MY
QUESTION FOR, FOR ONE CONCERN,
PRESENTER, YOU MENTIONED THAT
JAPAN IS SPENDING $7 TRILLION Ã
YEN, ¥7 TRILLION TO SORT OF LOOK
AT THIS RIPPLE EFFECT AND IT
JUST MADE ME THINK ABOUT TO WHAT
EXTENT, GIVEN YOU KNOW, OUR
STATE GIVEN, YOU KNOW, THE
BEAUTIFUL TOPOGRAPHY WE HAVE,
BUT ALSO THE CHALLENGES THAT WE
HAVE. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU THINK
ABOUT THE SCALE OF THIS KIND OF
ANALYSIS, DOES AI CREATE AN
OPPORTUNITY TO, TO REALLY,
REDUCE THE COST? AND IT'S REALLY
ASSESSING THIS. AND HOW COULD
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA WRAP
THEIR ARMS AROUND THIS KIND OF
DEEP, DEEP STUDY AND
COLLABORATION ACROSS TECHNOLOGY
TO GIVE US THE KIND OF ROAD MAP
THAT WOULD HELP US NOT JUST, YOU
KNOW, DEAL WITH THE CRISIS IN,
IN REAL TIME, BUT TO PREVENT
THESE KINDS OF CRISES, THANK
YOU, SENATOR, AND I SHOULD
CLARIFY, THEY'RE SPENDING ¥7
TRILLION IN ACTUALLY UPGRADING
THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE EVERY
SINGLE YEAR. SO THAT'S THAT'S
AROUND $70 BILLION A YEAR. THANK
YOU FOR THAT. INFRASTRUCTURE
UPGRADES. YES THEY CALL IT THEY
CALL IT THE EMERGENCY
INFRASTRUCTURE FUND. FOR SOME
REASON I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT
IT'S AN ACTUAL BUDGET WHICH THEY
WHICH THEY DEPLOY ALMOST EVERY
SINGLE YEAR, IN UPGRADING LEVEES
AND UPGRADING BRIDGES, ETC, FROM
A POINT OF VIEW OF DISASTER
MITIGATION, SO I'LL GIVE YOU AN
ANALOGY AND WE FIRST, THE FIRST
CITY WHICH WE ACTUALLY DID THIS
FOR WAS THE CITY OF SEATTLE. AND
I WENT TO THE, TO THE PORT AND
THE AIRPORT, AND I WAS
COLLECTING INFORMATION FOR LIKE,
HEY, WHEN WAS THIS SCREEN
UPGRADED? WHAT ABOUT THAT ONE?
AND WHAT ABOUT THIS AIRPORT
RUNWAY? AND IT TOOK US THREE
YEARS TO DO ONE CITY, YOU KNOW,
FOR THE ENTIRE JAPAN. IT ALMOST
TOOK US SIX YEARS, YOU KNOW, WE
WE'VE ALREADY LAUNCHED THE
UNITED STATES. SO WE HAVE DATA,
FOR EVERY ELECTRIC POLE IN
CALIFORNIA TODAY, WE KNOW THE
HEALTH OF EVERY SUBSTATION. AND
YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, SO THOSE
COMPONENTS WE'VE ALREADY BUILT.
AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE OF AI,
RIGHT. LIKE SO. SO NOW I KNOW
WHAT A TYPE 32 SUBSTATION OR A,
YOU KNOW, A AN AIRPORT RUNWAY
ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE. WHEN WAS IT
BUILT. AND THEN THEREFORE APPLY
A SORT OF A WHAT WE CALL AS A
FRAGILITY FUNCTION,
UNDERSTANDING THE, THE
ENGINEERING STRENGTH OF THAT, SO
AI HAS DEFINITELY SPED US UP IN
A, IN A, IN A GREAT WAY. WE ARE
STILL NOT GLOBAL. SO WE, WE HAVE
THE COVERAGE FOR THE, FOR THE
UNITED STATES RIGHT NOW. HAVING
SAID THAT, THERE ARE CERTAIN
LIMITATIONS, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS
OF USING A COMBINATION OF REAL
DATA AND SYNTHETIC DATA. YOU
KNOW, FOR A LOT OF
MUNICIPALITIES, WE HAVE REAL
DATA WHO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO
PROVIDE US THIS DATA. RIGHT? I
WON'T NAME THE CITIES, BUT LIKE
THERE ARE SEVERAL CITIES, EVEN
IN THE BAY AREA WHO DON'T KNOW
WHERE THEIR OWN WATER PIPES ARE.
RIGHT. AND SO THEY HAVE LIKE TEN
STREETS WORTH OF WATER PIPES AND
11 TO 15 IS MISSING. RIGHT? SO
ESSENTIALLY WE BASICALLY ARE
THEN USING SORT OF COMBINATION
OF URBAN PLANNING AND MACHINE
LEARNING AND AI TO SORT OF
GUESS, OKAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S A
IT'S A TEN STORY BUILDING WITH A
THOUSAND PEOPLE. IT MIGHT HAVE
THESE MANY COMBINATIONS AND THIS
MUCH PRESSURE IN THREE INCH AND
SIX INCH WATER PIPES, FOR
INSTANCE. RIGHT OR SEWER LINES,
ETC. SO THERE ARE SO, SO IT
PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SCALE
TO, TO LAUNCH THESE PROJECTS
REALLY FAST. BUT I BELIEVE, YOU
KNOW, THE GALLERY'S EXECUTIVE,
YOU KNOW, HE MENTIONED THAT AND
THAT ALSO SANTA BARBARA LEADER
MENTIONED THE IDEA THAT, HEY, WE
HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL IN
TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING THE
BIASES WHICH, YOU KNOW, WHICH
COME IN. SO WE'VE REALIZED THAT,
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE ARE
SYNTHESIZING THIS DATA AND THEN
THE DECISIONS WHICH WE ARE
ACTUALLY RECOMMENDING, RIGHT.
THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A HUMAN IN THE
LOOP IN EVERY, IN EVERY
DECISION, THAT'S, YOU KNOW,
OBVIOUS. BUT THE OUR WHILE OUR
POSITION IS IN THE HIGH 90S, OUR
RECALL IS IN THE MID 70S. WHAT
THAT MEANS IS IF YOU WERE TO
GIVE ME 50 CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE, AND YOU WERE TO
TELL ME WHICH OF THESE IS THE
MOST VULNERABLE STACK, RANK THEM
OR PICK THE ONES WHICH ARE MOST
VULNERABLE. I WOULD PICK THE
MOST VULNERABLE WITH A HIGH 90
PRECISION, BUT I WOULD LEAVE
SOME AND THOSE WOULD BE 30% OF
THEM, WHICH I WOULD BE LEAVING
OUT. RIGHT. AND THERE ARE WAYS
TO ACTUALLY OPTIMIZE THAT. AND
AND, AND GET MORE HUMANS TO THEN
TRAIN IT BETTER. BUT
ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE
TO REALLY FOCUS ON SPECIFIC USE
CASES, WHICH WHERE WE WHERE WE
CAN BE, YOU KNOW, MINDFUL, BUT
THAT IS THAT THESE ARE THE
OPPORTUNITIES. AND SO IF YOU
RECALL, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY
MANY, MANY UPGRADES HAVE GONE
INTO THE HETCH HETCHY WATER
SYSTEM, BUT YOU KNOW, MOST OF
THE HOSPITALS IN THE BAY AREA,
YOU KNOW, AND IN FACT, EVEN IN
LA ARE SERVICED BY SPECIFIC
AQUIFERS AND SPECIFIC WATER
SYSTEMS, AND THOSE HAVE HIGH.
OH, SORRY, THANK YOU FOR THAT
ANSWER. I'M VERY, VERY COMPLETE,
SENATOR, I THINK YOU HAD A
QUESTION. I DO, AND THIS IS FOR
MR. D'AGOSTINO, YOU KNOW, PG AND
E UP HERE HAS BEEN DOING A LOT
OF UNDERGROUNDING. SGA PROBABLY
HAS TO LOOK INTO A LOT OF THAT.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH OF THAT IS
GOING ON, ALL OF OUR PUBLIC
UTILITIES, THAT'S A BIG PUSH, TO
TRY TO MINIMIZE, WHAT YOU WERE
TALKING ABOUT. THE PSPS
SHUTOFFS? YES, BECAUSE THE WORST
TIME TO SHUT OFF SOMEBODY'S
ELECTRICITY IS WHEN IT'S 105
DEGREES, AND THEY'VE GOT FIRE
COMING THROUGH AND SMOKE AND ALL
OF THAT. SO TO WHAT EXTENT IS
THAT AI BEING USED TO DETERMINE
WHERE IT IS PRACTICAL AND, AND,
AND CAN BE DONE, BECAUSE IT IS
IMPRACTICAL TO UNDERGROUND
EVERYTHING. BUT I THINK THERE'S
A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE.
SO AS I BEING USED TO DETERMINE
THAT. SO WE CAN DO THAT IN OUR
PLANNING, IT ABSOLUTELY IS. AND
THAT'S IN THAT RISK MODELING.
AND ON BOTH SIDES OF THE RISK
MODELING. SO I MENTIONED THERE'S
THAT LIKELIHOOD. SO WE HAVE TO
FIND THOSE AREAS ON THE ELECTRIC
SYSTEM THAT ARE PRONE TO THE
MOST EXTREME WINDS. AND ARE
PRONE TO SEEING A FAILURE. THAT
POTENTIAL IGNITION, BUT THEN
ALSO WE'VE KIND OF HEARD ABOUT
HOW AI IS BEING USED ON WHERE
WOULD THE BIGGEST FIRES HAPPEN,
WHAT WOULD BE THE BIGGEST
CONSEQUENCE? WE EVEN BRING IN
SOME OF GOOGLE'S, STRUCTURE
ANALYSIS TO LOOK AT THE IMPACT,
BUT THE SHORT ANSWER IS YES. AI
IS BEING USED TO IDENTIFY THE
HIGHEST RISK LOCATIONS TO
UNDERGROUND. YOU GOT A QUESTION?
NÓ. SO WITH THAT SAID, YOU KNOW,
I HAD A QUICK QUESTION AND MAYBE
IT'S A DUMB QUESTION JUST
HEARING ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY IN
AI, WHERE IT'S COME FROM, WHERE
IT'S GOING. I'M LOOKING AT
SEISMIC ACTIVITY, RIGHT. WE'VE
ALL THESE EARTHQUAKES, YOU KNOW,
THAT HAPPENS YEAR AFTER YEAR.
YOU THINK THERE WILL BE A WAY
THAT WE PUT ALL THAT DATA INTO
AI, WHERE THEY WOULD KIND OF
PREDICT FUTURE EARTHQUAKES COME
IN? OBVIOUSLY, WE'RE OVERDUE FOR
THE BIG ONE, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
WOULD THAT BE SOMETHING YOU GUYS
THINK? I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE IT'S
NOT IN YOUR PURVIEW TO ANSWER,
BUT I'M JUST KIND OF THINKING
OUTSIDE THE BOX A LITTLE BIT AS
WE TALK ABOUT RESPONDING AND USE
OF AI FOR EVERYTHING. YOU THINK
SOMETHING LIKE THAT COULD COME
IN THE FUTURE AS A QUESTION, IF
ANYBODY CAN ANSWER IT AS AN
EARTHQUAKE ENGINEER, I FEEL.
THANK YOU. FOR THE QUESTION,
ASSEMBLY MEMBER LIKE AS AN
EARTHQUAKE ENGINEER, I FEEL LIKE
IT'S ALMOST AN IMPOSSIBILITY.
UNLESS WE HAVE A LOT OF DATA TO
SIMULATE. THE PROBLEM IS WE
CAN'T WE CANNOT DIG BEYOND 18 TO
20 MILES. RIGHT. AND SOME OF THE
SEISMIC ACTIVITY ACTUALLY STARTS
WAY DEEPER THAN THAT. AND
BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH
ELEMENTS IN THE PERIODIC TABLE,
WHICH WILL ENABLE US TO DIG
DEEPER THAN A CERTAIN DEPTH, WE
ARE UNABLE TO PUT SENSORS AT
THAT DEPTH AND THEREFORE UNABLE
TO UNDERSTAND. THERE ARE,
INDIRECT WAYS, BY BY WHICH FOLKS
HAVE TRIED TO SORT OF SAY, OKAY,
THERE IS AN EARTHQUAKE IN PERU,
MAYBE IT REACHED WASHINGTON.
THE, YOU KNOW, THE SHOOK, THE
WASHINGTON STATE MONUMENT AFTER
SOME PERIOD. SO THERE COULD BE
SOME RIPPLE EFFECTS THERE. AND
THAT KIND OF STUFF. OBVIOUSLY
THERE'S EARLY WARNING ISSUES,
WHICH ARE VERY, VERY FAMILIAR
WITH, BUT THERE'S I DON'T REALLY
SEE DATA IS THE PROBLEM IS MY
POINT. RIGHT. SO THANK YOU. ANY
OTHER QUESTIONS. SO WITH THAT I
BELIEVE THAT WILL COME TO AN END
OF OUR HEARING ALMOST TO THE END
OF THE HEARING, WE'LL JUST MOVE.
IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS,
WE'LL MOVE ON TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
IF THERE'S ANY MEMBER IN THE
PUBLIC FOR A COMMENT WHICH
DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THERE'S NONE.
SO WITH THAT SAID, I WANT TO
THANK EVERYBODY FOR
PARTICIPATING IN THIS VERY
INFORMATIVE, HEARING, AI HAS
COME A LONG WAY, AND IT'S THE
FUTURE IS BRIGHT IN WHAT THEY'RE
DOING, BRIAN, I JUST WANT TO
TALK. I'VE BEEN TO PG AND E'S
WEATHER STATION DOWN THERE IN
SAN DIEGO, AND IT'S FABULOUS. I
WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL MY COMMITTEE
MEMBERS OR FOLKS THAT IF THEY
EVER GET OPPORTUNITY, WHAT
YOU'RE DOING OUT THERE IS JUST
YOU GUYS GOT, A GOOD THING GOING
ON THERE. WHAT YOU'RE TALKING
ABOUT PREDICTING THE WEATHER AND
EVERYTHING YOU DO OVER THERE. SO
WITH THAT SAID, THIS HEARING
WILL COME TO A CLOSE. THANK YOU
ALL FOR PARTICIPATING. AND
THANKS FOR MY COLLEAGUES JOINING
ME HERE TODAY. THANKS. MEETING
IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. THANK
YOU.