4 Ways that AI is helping save our planet
AI is the zeitgeist of now. It is everyone’s favourite buzzword, bandied around town and sprinkled over every start-up’s homepage. And rightly so. This is AI’s glittering moment- big data, algorithms and deep learning all working together to make our lives and businesses run more smoothly and efficiently than ever before. But AI’s real superpower lies in it’s potential to save our planet and tech giants are beginning to cotton on. Microsoft for Earth is a 50 million dollar, 5 year programme to deliver AI solutions to companies tackling climate change, water, biodiversity and water. As the natural world fast deteriorates there seems a real opportunity to harness technology’s power for good, using it to transform those processes that have led to and exasperated climate change. Here is how AI is fighting for our Earth:
AI is catching poachers
As the mass extinction of many of our planet’s most endangered species intensifies, so must our efforts to counter illegal wildlife poaching. A staggering 200,000 elephants are killed in Africa each year. That is a chilling 55 per day.
AI can help. Conservationists have been using computers and a mixture of game theory and algorithms to predict future poaching strategy. Using data collected by local patrols on previous poaching activity, the computers generate new patrolling routes that lead to the locations where poaching is most likely to happen next.
Now conservationists are further applying deep learning to make these poaching insights update in real-time. Infrared cameras were previously used to detect night-time poaching activity but the work required to sift through thousands of images, and monitor which were poachers and which were simply animals, was time-consuming and inefficient. With deep learning, a computer can be trained to automatically make this distinction. Connecting drone camera technology with laptops back at base stations speeds up patroller’s response time- which means catchin’ those bad guys faster and more frequently.
AI is smartening up our agriculture
As the environmental impact resulting from intensive farming practices increases, so does the demand for more efficient changes in food production. Farmers around the world are using AI analytics to increase food production to meet the ever-growing global demand, whilst simultaneously limiting waste.
Like vehicles in our cities, tractors can be fitted with sensors that record real-time data on the condition of the soil, the soil moisture, and the amount of sun and rain the plants have received. AI sensors can even help detect the early stages of crop disease and other issues. The analysis of the data collected gives farmers the actionable insights they need to keep feeding the world in an organised, precise and safe way, lowering water usage and waste.
Visual recognition and real-time environmental monitoring can also be deployed to gather data on livestock’s daily movements, as well as analysing growth indicators, pregnancies and other health-related matters. It can automate the feeding of animals and analyse and forecast supply and demand. Farmers can therefore better plan for production- meeting demand more efficiently and eliminating the need for harmful chemicals.
AI’s ability to predict weather patterns also has a place in agriculture, allowing famers to decide when is the best time to produce certain crops in any given year- making sure they don’t use our precious resources growing the wrong stuff at the wrong time.
AI is smartening up our cities
Smart cities, powered by AI platforms, are changing the structure and life of our urban areas. With better organisation and planning comes a more efficient way of living and building, creating cities that provide clean, healthy living conditions for all- free of congestion and pollution.
AI Sensors can provide specific recommendations on how best to reduce air pollution — a specific factory that should be closed down or a need to reduce the number of car drivers. There is an increased accountability that comes with being able to directly pinpoint guilty sources.
AI can prevent natural disasters
In 2018 there have been 11 major natural disasters that have resulted in loss of life and property. Organisations such as Global Forest Watch, Microsoft Earth and Chesapeake Conservancy are using AI to make near real-time, unfolding digital maps that monitor our world’s vital signs and provide predictions about what will happen next. The power of this technology lies in its ability to alert us to when a watershed is most likely to flood, patterns that indicate impending deforestation or keeping track of the daily health of our remaining coral reefs.
Conservationists now have constant and direct access to deeper insight on the health of our ailing planet- spotting whenever things start to worsen. If people and governments receive these earlier warning signs that conditions are ‘right’ for a disaster, proactive precautions could be taken. AI, through its ability to comprehend and analyse weather patterns, and common results from those patterns, can provide alerts infinitely faster than any manual process can. With technology we can predict how long a natural disaster may last and its severity, based on our 360 understanding of conditions.
AI for our planet is a real opportunity to make a lasting and tangible difference in the fight against climate change. It seems only fitting that we, as the responsible party, come up with the solution- AI has the power to do that very necessary good.
