Technology

Technology plays a central role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). The transformative power of technology can accelerate progress towards all the SDGs by driving economic growth, reducing inequalities, enhancing access to basic services, and promoting sustainability.

Under SDG 9, technology, particularly in terms of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), is a key enabler of industrial innovation and infrastructure development. ICT has the potential to drive economic growth by enhancing productivity, creating jobs, and fostering entrepreneurship. Moreover, it can contribute to making industries more sustainable by facilitating the transition towards smart manufacturing and circular economy models.

Regarding SDG 4, technology can greatly enhance access to quality education. Digital technologies, including e-learning platforms, can break down barriers to education, such as geographical distance, socio-economic status, and physical disabilities. They can also enrich the learning process by enabling personalized, student-centered learning experiences.

In the context of SDG 3, technology has a profound impact on health outcomes. Medical technologies, from simple devices like thermometers to complex systems like MRI machines, have revolutionized healthcare delivery. Furthermore, digital health technologies, such as telemedicine and mobile health apps, can enhance access to health services, improve patient outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs.

For SDG 13, technology offers powerful tools for mitigating and adapting to climate change. Renewable energy technologies can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while climate information services can enhance resilience to climate impacts. Furthermore, digital technologies can facilitate the monitoring and reporting of climate actions, contributing to greater transparency and accountability.

However, the benefits of technology are not automatic, and there are significant challenges to overcome, including the digital divide, cybersecurity threats, and ethical issues related to privacy and data ownership. Thus, policy interventions and multi-stakeholder partnerships are needed to ensure that technology serves as a catalyst for sustainable development and does not exacerbate inequalities.

Hands under water tap

RELX Environmental Challenge 2023: five shortlisted projects to bring safe water and sanitation to communities around the world

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In a first-of-its-kind report, learn which companies are the world’s leading patent owners with the potential to drive transformative innovation toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The authors explore automatic and early detection methods for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using deep learning techniques in order to improve the speed and accessibility of current testing methods. They propose a deep transfer learning model as a new approach for accurately detecting categories of Alzheimer's disease. The research serves SDG 3's aim in highlighing and seeking better treatment for AD, an increasingly serious global public health issue.
Monitoring the ocean carbon cycle is key to improved understanding. Satellites play a major role in our global carbon monitoring system. To make full use of satellite observations for ocean carbon monitoring the remote-sensing community needs to work closely with in-situ data experts, physical and biogeochemical modellers, Earth system scientists, climate scientists and marine policy experts.
This study assessed the central auditory processing (CAP) function and its electroencephalogram (EEG) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and the early stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD) so as to provide a basis for early recognition and intervention of AD.
Good paper on how electroencephalography monitoring is being used as a method to diagnose Alzheimer's.
Results of ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) pilot plant on-site tests for wastewater reclamation are reported here with 90% and 65% water recovery achieved for UF and RO stages, respectively. RO achieved high quality requirements for industrial reuse supporting SDG 6.
Nuclear desalination is an important non-electric application of nuclear power and heat, having strong interlinkages and alignment with sustainable development, climate change management (both mitigation and adaptation), and water security.
Elsevier,

Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, Volume 117, Part A, 2023, 105617

An examination of the challenges involved in water demand forecasting, with a particular focus on the impact of COVID-19 on the performance of various machine learning models designed for this purpose.
An investigation into a new integrated model for pricing and financing a sustainable supply chain that can reduce manufacturing costs and thus encourage better participation by producers in green projects.

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