AI For Good Starts With Collaboration

In the age of innovation, we are focused on technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, and more. Often the application of these technologies comes as an afterthought once the technology has been developed. Commercial uses of these technologies are easier to focus on. Mostly because they tend to attract investors. But, as we integrate these technologies into our lives, we are changing our lives as well as changing the world around us. Entrepreneurs, technologists, investors, and inventors are increasingly focused on how these technologies might impact us. 

What does it mean to use technology for the good of humanity? 

A Flight, A Summit, and An Initiative

In July 2019, Jannicke Mikkelsen, a New-Tech Film Director, teamed up with the astronaut, Terry Virts, and the One More Orbit Flight Crew to circumnavigate the earth, setting the Polar Circumnavigation World Speed Record while live-streaming to the world. From the aircraft, they saw first-hand the irreversible damage that the human race is inflicting on the environment. Like Greta Thunberg, they felt the urgency of our Climate Change Crisis. 

"All you see is broken ice drifting with the ocean currents. I realized my dream of skiing to the North Pole is no longer possible! The melting ice will change our ecosystem and we need to act now to slow down the climate crisis.”

Jannicke Mikkelsen, a New-Tech Film Director, the first woman to circumnavigate the world over the North and South Pole

They needed to do something. 

Jannicke decided to team up with Molly Lavik, the founder of #AIShowBiz, an annual summit that brings together entrepreneurs, investors, and inventors to collaborate on artificial intelligence, entertainment, and emerging technologies. To embrace a higher purpose, Molly dedicated this year’s summit theme to “Make What Matters”. She wanted participants to use technology to work for humanity. She asked Terry to be the keynote speaker at the conference to speak about how technology can help to solve our Climate Change Crisis. 

While brainstorming with Jannicke on the urgency of our Climate Crisis, they decided to create the Mayday Impact Award PitchFest taking place during #AIShowBiz Summit 4.0 in Santa Monica, CA May 4-6, 2020. 

“Companies have a responsibility to take care of the communities that they serve. They have a responsibility to take care of the planet we call home. Together, in the age of innovation, we have an extraordinary opportunity to find innovative ways to be a force for good. Let’s use technology as a transformative power to heal the world.”

Molly Lavik, founder of #AIShowBiz, LLC and Mentor InSight, Inc.

#AIShowBiz, LLC made a special deal with the largest international accelerator in Southern California, Expert DOJO, for investing $100,000 to the best application if it matches Expert DOJO’s criteria.

This year, the award will not just focus on the winner but also focus on every single participating company that pitches. The summit wants to make sure that companies that are using innovative technology to preserve our planet for future generations can connect to the right resources that will help them grow. Arch Mission Foundation will be archiving all of the submissions in outer space, where it will be kept for our future generations. 

“We must have a collective responsibility to advance technology to positively impact our planet. If we all make a little change to create technology for good, the reward will impact our planet globally.” 

Jannicke Mikkelsen, a New-Tech Film Director

When submission opens on January 21st, 2020 to coincide with the timing of the kick-off of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, submission topics suggested examples include “Reduce Carbon Emissions”, “Protecting Species and/or animal rights”, and more. Companies can submit their work by visiting the Mayday Impact Award PitchFest application page.

How Two Companies Are Making An Impact

If you are wondering how a company with emerging technology can make a difference, we’ve compiled two examples. You don’t need to be a “green technology” startup to make an impact. These two startups have different approaches to using their technology and their services to raise awareness about our Climate Change Crisis.

The Carbon Underground

The Carbon Underground is a company that is focused on creating tools, alliances, and opportunities to help companies draw down carbon to mitigate the climate crisis. Based on the science that says reducing emissions is not enough—"we must draw down our legacy carbon”—and the massive opportunity to do so is by restoring soil health. The Carbon Underground is highly focused on the food industry, the world’s largest. Helping large companies transition from industrial agricultural techniques to regenerative practices can literally draw down billions of tons of carbon, while increasing profit margins and improving both food quality and security.

During One More Orbit’s flight, The Carbon Underground helped to offset the carbon during the flight around the world. The entire trip turned out to be carbon negative. Considering how much fuel a business jet can consume, this is a big win.

The Carbon Underground is an example of a company that is directly providing solutions with the scale, immediacy, and ROI to help with the Climate Change Crisis. 


StoryFile is a company that is using artificial intelligence to facilitate all kinds of conversations. From telling your personal stories to learning from experts, StoryFile gives everyone the ability to engage in intimate, interactive and natural conversations with people you normally would not have the chance to talk to. 

For example, have you ever wondered how you might have a conversation with astronaut, Terry Virts, enquiring about what it is like to be the commander of the International Space Station? 

Using StoryFile’s app, you can have a conversation with the digital version of Terry. Through artificial intelligence, StoryFile creates immersive story experiences where you can interview anyone about their expertise and their stories.  

“I personally receive a lot of questions in my Q and As when I speak at conferences. With an app like this, it opens up opportunities for everyone to be able to ask me questions at any time of the day. They don’t even have to be at the conference.”

Terry Virts, former NASA astronaut, International Space Station Commander and Colonel in the United States Air Force.

StoryFile’s CEO Heather Maio-Smith has made it her mission to use her company’s technology to raise awareness of Climate Change through facilitating better conversations about the topic.

StoryFile is developing interviews with scientists, activists, economists, politicians, and more, to share knowledge of the Climate Change Crisis and raise awareness of its urgency. At the same time, it is developing interviews with psychologists to help people manage their conversations with their families and their children around the Climate Change Crisis to alleviate anxiety related to the crisis. By connecting you directly with experts, you can receive an accurate picture of our Climate Change Crisis, the initiatives and policies to solve this crisis.

“There’s a lot of noise in the media about Climate Change. You often don’t know what’s true, what’s scientific, and what’s reliable with all the hype that’s out there. Everyone has a lot of questions. It’s much easier if you can ask the experts who are working to solve the crisis. At StoryFile, we want to facilitate this type of genuine and productive conversations. By connecting people together to think about Climate Change issues, we can potentially have more ideas emerging from these conversations.” 

Heather Maio-Smith, CEO of StoryFile

Through the use of artificial intelligence, StoryFile is hoping that it will help all of us better understand the world around us. Knowledge is power. When ideas can be generated from “productive” conversations, there’s a better chance that with our collective effort, we can all think about innovative solutions to solve our world’s problems, such as with our Climate Change Crisis.

StoryFile is an example of a company that is integrating the Climate Change conversation into use cases of their technology to bring people together to understand the crisis. In raising awareness through connecting experts with interested parties globally, StoryFile is helping to open up communication channels where more people can be inspired to take action to solve the Climate Change Crisis.

Why Global Cooperation is Key

In this age of innovation, technology has the potential to impact all of our lives. In this type of environment, globally, we all have to think about how we can use innovative technologies for the good of mankind. The conversations around how we apply technology in the age of innovation has the power to bring everyone around the world together. It’s an opportunity that can potentially reduce or eradicate conflict, destruction, and war.

Terry Virts, who was the commander of the International Space Station has always worked in an environment where international cooperation is key to solving problems. 

“In the international space station, we had an international crew from three or more countries. When we were up there for months, we learned to cooperate with each other for the common purpose of the mission… It presents some interesting challenges… But, it takes a leader who is open to change to be able to be successful in bringing everyone together.”


The cooperation of Molly, Terry, and Jannicke and many others who are involved in the success of #AIShowBiz Summit 4.0, serves as the perfect example of how a handful of people can make a difference by bringing people together to solve some of our pressing issues such as the Climate Change Crisis.

Ultimately, it takes global cooperation of emerging technology leaders, investors, inventors, policymakers, researchers and consumers to be able to use innovation for the good of our humanity.

Each one of us has a stake in our world.

The future of the human race depends on all of us - to be able to engage in these conversations, find out how we can help, and use our technology to help to create better strategies for the sake of humanity.

Putting Names to Faces


Jannicke Mikkelsen, a New-Tech Film Director


Heather Maio-Smith, StoryFile’s CEO

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