An increasing number of researchers is turning to artificial intelligence to monitor biodiversity and bolster efforts to help endangered species. Unlike conventional methods that can disrupt ecosystems or require considerable time, labour and resources, AI has the potential to quickly and effectively analyse vast quantities of real-world data.
AI is “imperfect” but could accelerate important discoveries, says Nicolas Miailhe, Paris-based founder of The Future Society, an international non-profit organization that aims to better govern AI. “We very much need human practitioners in the loop to design models, as well as collect, label, quality check and interpret data,” he says.
The researchers also fed their recordings to a type of AI model called a convolutional neural network , which had already been developed to identify bird sounds. The CNN was able to pick out 75 of the bird species that the experts had, but the model’s data set was limited and contained only 77 bird species that might occur in the region. “Our results demonstrate that AI is ready for more comprehensive species identification in the tropics from sound,” says Müller.
They built a free online platform that uses the technology to automatically analyse images, video or audio files, including data from real-time camera-trap footage and other sensors that approved users can upload. Users have the option to be notified by e-mail when a species of interest has been spotted in the footage they have uploaded.
Although it is well documented that human activities have resulted in biodiversity loss in rivers and lakes, little is known about which environmental factors have the largest impact. “Long-term data is pivotal to link changes in biodiversity to environmental change and to define achievable conservation goals,” says Luisa Orsini, who studies evolutionary biosystems at the University of Birmingham, UK.