Could Artificial Intelligence like ChatGPT help conserve biodiversity?
Human activity has caused damage to our planet, a dynamic that if not stopped in time, could have catastrophic consequences, as various specialists around the world have warned.
He climate changeinvasive alien species, the overexploitation of resources, the destruction of habitats and pollution are anthropogenic phenomena that act in synergy, and cause serious losses of species and ecosystems.
And if it continues at the current rate, the result may be a collapse of biodiversity, which would represent the sixth mass extinction in the history of life.
That is why preserving biodiversity, either directly or by stopping and reversing these destructive dynamics, becomes a priority, and probably one of the most difficult challenges that our species will have to face.
How could artificial intelligence help protect biodiversity?
Artificial intelligence applications are present in many other fields.
Given this scenario, a tool that is “in fashion” but that is not a new concept could help us in this goal that seems unlikely to be achieved.
We refer to the Artificial Intelligence (AI)of which it is necessary to clarify that there are many types of applications but the one that is on everyone’s lips at this time is ChatGPT, from Open AI.
With this application and others that arise from the same company, it has been possible to show the production or processing of images, texts or audios.
But there are not only artificial intelligences capable of answering questions, correcting or translating texts, removing red eyes from photographs, or creating, for example, a painting in the style of Van Gogh, from the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
Since the applications of the artificial intelligence They are present in many other fields such as meteorology and medicine. But, would it be possible to apply it in the protection of the environment?
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Artificial intelligence as a tool for environmental protection
It hides behind studies such as those that show climate predictions.
The answer is yes: various conservation scientists are currently using aspects of artificial intelligence for these purposes.
It hides behind studies such as those that show climate predictions, which allow us to know how the climate change; following models that help establish priority lists for potentially invasive species; or after genomics studies that will make it possible to implement species protection policies, as has been done with the Iberian lynx.
Recently, a research group, led by researcher Daniele Silvestro, from the University of Friborg, Switzerland, has gone a step further.
They have used a methodology that, through artificial intelligence, quantifies the balance between costs and benefits of the protection of areas and their biodiversity, allowing the exploration of multiple variables.
They have called it ‘CAPTAIN’, an acronym for ‘conservation area prioritization through artificial intelligence’.
With it they have proven to be able to improve the protection of the biodiversity compared to measures that qualify as ‘naive’, such as relying exclusively on the species richness of the region.
CAPTAIN presents more reliable and effective solutions than other previous computer programs, and provides prioritization maps that are easy to interpret by managers or administrators.
The researchers, who have published their results in the prestigious journal Nature Sustainability, ensure that the results are even better if periodic monitoring of the area’s biodiversity is implemented, for example, through the use of citizen science.
They also consider that the artificial intelligence it can become a very promising tool to improve the conservation of biological and ecosystem values.
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