AI is having a moment. The media is full of it, tech bros have made squillions out of it, and politicians are falling over themselves to pretend they understand it – and know what to do about it. Scare stories abound, but there’s a brighter side to the AI coin, too. Because it holds out some practical promise of tackling a number of stubborn challenges.
Here are four ways it’s doing just that.
1) Futuring the forests
The rainforests of South America may be under threat, but they’re still vast and remote enough to make monitoring that threat a real challenge. Satellite surveillance is one answer, but it has its limitations, and foot patrols can only cover so much ground. Cue drones. Equipped with sophisticated cameras and motion sensors, they can soar almost silently through the canopy, spotting the slightest sign of illegal logging or other disturbance. AI is able to decode and analyse their findings within seconds, giving real-time reports of emerging threats – such as signs of a new logging road – to allow prompt action to nip them in the bud.
