Google Wants to Use AI to Time Traffic Lights More Efficiently

Google Wants to Use AI to Time Traffic Lights More Efficiently

FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2019, file photo a sign is shown on a Google building at their campus in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Alphabet Inc's Google cut fuel use and traffic delays by 10% to 20% at four locations in Israel by using artificial intelligence to optimize signal lights and it next plans to test the software in Rio de Janeiro, the company said on Wednesday.

The early-phase research project is among new software initiatives inside Google to combat climate change. Some employees as well as advocacy groups have called on the company, the world's third-most valuable, to more urgently use its influence to combat the crisis.

While Google has not addressed critics' calls to stop selling technology to oil companies or funding lawmakers who deny global warming, it has prioritized sustainability features.

Google plans in the coming weeks to allow its Nest thermostat users to buy renewable energy credits for $10 a month to offset emissions from heating and cooling. Credits will come from projects in Texas including Bethel Wind Farm and Roseland Solar. A majority of the funds will go toward credit purchases and utility-bill payment costs, Google said, without elaborating on the remainder.

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