Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals worldwide in just over 40 years. Deforestation, plastic pollution in our oceans, poaching activities are some of the ways in how we are pushing many animals to extinction (WWF, 2018). Thus if we want to halt wildlife decline we should engage in effective conservation programs. However, to make sure conservation is effective we need to understand animal behaviour and be able to make correct population estimates. This is where AI can come into place.
The elephant listening project in the Republic of Congo is one of many examples where AI is showing great potential to support scientists and protect the animals. A Microsoft AI for Earth grantee, Conservation Metrics, is using machine learning to ‘distinguish between forest elephant calls and all the other sounds in a noisy tropical rainforest’ (IT-online, 2018). Where in the past shifting through this data could take several months the use of AI is increasing the efficiency of this procedure. The information generated from this can then be used to ‘ build more accurate and frequent population estimates, track their movements, provide better security and potentially to identify individual animals, which can’t be easily seen from the air’ (IT-online, 2018).
AI is also used in projects related to saving the world’s tallest animal, the giraffe. Giraffe numbers have decreased by 40% in the past 30 years across Africa. Biologists are rushing to better understand their numbers, movements and preferred habitat so that those areas can be better protected (Casselman, 2018). Wild me, a conservation tech non-profit, developed the Wildbook software program to be able to automatically identify individual giraffes based on their unique coat pattern or other specific characteristics. Giraffe photos and the respective location data is uploaded to the Giraffespotter database and from this, a population assessment emerges (Casselman, 2018). The database is accessible for the public so everyone from park rangers to tourists can help with the research (Giraffespotter, n.d.)
With worldwide depletion of animal populations, it is now more important than ever to have effective and efficient conservation programs. AI might just be the tool that can help save our animals.
Casselman, A. (2018, November 13). How artificial intelligence is changing wildlife research. Retrieved from National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/11/artificial-intelligence-counts-wild-animals/
Giraffespotter. (n.d.). GiraffeSpotter – Wildbook for Giraffe. Retrieved from Giraffespotter: https://giraffespotter.org/overview.jsp
IT-Online. (2018, August 16). AI, IoT take on wildlife conservation. Retrieved from IT-Online: https://it-online.co.za/2018/08/16/ai-iot-take-on-wildlife-conservation/
WWF. (2018). Living Planet Report 2018: Aiming Higher. Gland, Switzerland: WWF.
Very interesting topic you mentioned here Gabriëlle. It’s great to see how technology of humans is also now helping animals that have been affected by us. It seems like there still is a lot of room for improvement though. We have so much data on people and big algorithms to support them but the examples you mentioned aren’t really in that stage yet. I hope to see a steep development of these innovations and that we can save these beautiful animals.
Thank you for your comment Jeremy. This is definitely only the beginning of how AI can be used for the greater good. However, developments in the field are happening quickly thus I hope you are just as excited as me to see where the developments will take us.
Hi Gabriëlle, thanks for a very useful topic to think of. However, in my opinion, the utilization of AI in your post is more relevant to the researching side for conservation. In the first paragraph, you have mentioned 3 main causes of extinction: deforestation, plastic pollution in the ocean, and poaching activities, which are all conducted by human beings. Therefore, for saving our animals, advanced technologies can be exploited to raise awareness and reduce harmful activities, creating a more substantial effect on this critical issue. For instance, a biotechnology company Pembient based in San Francisco has used keratin and rhino DNA with the support of a 3-D printer technology to produce a real rhino horn to sell to people in need for cure cancer or other related health problems. The price will also lower than the black market’s. I believe that this application could reduce poaching activities for rhino horns and become a sustainable solution in the future. AI can also definitely be used to gather migration patterns of animals to identify which areas need protection from poachers or constructions or any possible threats. There are still many other applications of advanced technologies (Pingers for saving cetaceans, drones to catch poachers, etc.) bringing tremendously positive impacts on preventing harmful human activities on animal wildlife. On the other hand, changing people’s mindsets and raising awareness are also another crucial mission to accomplish.
https://www.pegasusfoundation.org/five-ways-technology-working-save-endangered-species/
Dear An,
Thank you for your comment. The developments in these fields are happening quickly and it is expected that the use of AI as described in the post will in the future also help with detecting poaching activities earlier based on the animal movements of which it already produces valuable insights now. Regarding the 3-D printed ivory, some experts also expect this to actually have some negative lashback (https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27459-3d-printed-horns-may-put-rhinos-at-greater-risk-of-extinction/) as it might serve as smokescreen for selling actual illegal ivory. I am not too sure about the 3-D printed alternative used as medicine as I think these are purely linked to peoples believes about the ‘real deal’. However, the synthetic version certainly might have some potential in substituting real ivory in the production of traditional instruments or crafts (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/faking-elephant-ivory-180963226/). All in all, it is already promising to see that new technologies are being deployed to protect wildlife in general but we still have a long way to go.
Great tuff Gabriëlle! As you describe in the article, AI just might be the way to help prevent extinction of certain species. Altough I believe AI will help, the true steps that need to be taken, as I feel, are still very much physical in nature. Perhaps the field of research that will really contribute to prevent extinction of animal species is found in AI, but in a different setting. As far as I know, giant leaps are being made in the field of gene manipulation supported by computing techniques.