Artificial Intelligence: Our Next Ally against Environmental Risks

Aug 21, 2018 | Lou del Bello
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A glance at one satellite map of the Peruvian Amazon is enough to grasp the scale of devastation humans are causing to one of Earth's most precious ecosystems. The digital shots show with precision where the forests have been cleared for timber or illegal gold mining, yellow or pink scars amid the deep green of intact canopy. Year after year, humans eat away at more forests, pollute  vast swathes of ocean and drive more animal species towards extinction. Today, technology is helping us monitor these changes in unprecedented detail, but scientists believe that it can go further –and actually help protect our planet from future threats.