ID: 2065
Presenting Author: Andrea Pearce
Session: 581 - Experiences in enhancing communication through the application of AI in IA
Status: pending
This session will review existing tools to review public input in the NEPA impact assessment process and how effective implementation of those tools can enhance trust in agency decision-making.
When conducted properly, NEPA public engagement provides valuable insight into a community’s concerns over proposed development and can educate impact assessment. When conducted poorly, NEPA public engagement merely offers an open forum for generic objections to proposed development and does not add substantive data to inform decision-makers’ analysis of impacts and potential avoidance, minimization, or mitigation measures.
AI tools can help synthesize valuable background information about existing conditions in a proposed development area, gather data about important stakeholders and their past concerns, distill voluminous comments on draft NEPA documents, and create a valuable framework for project developers to promote ongoing beneficial community interactions.
But using AI tools can also result in distrust from key stakeholders who may feel agencies are simply cataloguing their legitimate concerns through advanced word searches, and not truly addressing those concerns.
Presenters will summarize the application of Jacobs Engage AI in complex project development NEPA processes. They will explain how technical experts can use this tool to partner with government agencies to review vast quantities of comments efficiently and to promote more substantive responses to material community concerns. They will also review how to use this tool in coordination with an effective traditional outreach program to anticipate and address potential concerns with the use of AI technology. Finally, the presenters will elaborate on potential expansion of this tool to better inform impact anal
Andrea is Jacobs’ Global Principal for Data Analytics, AI and Insights. Her varied career includes environmental consulting (remediation and permitting), applied research and R&D, and teaching. Andrea
Coauthor 1: Kevin Murphy