Is There Nothing About Machine Learning That Could Give Us Some Insight?

I don't want to overstate the enormity of the problem, but is there nothing about machine learning that could give us some insight and how to be more efficient in the uses of our energy? Actually, that's where i'm the most optimistic about machine learning. If we think about the way that we even understand our planet as a system, which is undergoing clima change, those kinds of insights have come from lecting enormous amounts of data or doing machine learning. But it's when we really turn these systems to understanding people and understanding societies, that i think we have far greater problems.