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Climate change is killing coral — can AI help protect the reefs?

Dec 15, 2023 - theverge.com
The Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) in Florida is using artificial intelligence (AI) to help restore the state's coral reefs, which have seen a 90% drop in healthy coral cover since the 1970s due to pollution, overfishing, ship damage, disease, and climate change. The CRF has developed a tool called CeruleanAI, which uses AI to analyze 3D maps of reefs, providing a new perspective for monitoring restoration efforts and giving conservationists more time to rescue corals. The tool can identify species of coral, their location in the reef, and their growth since the last visit, helping to determine the best strategies for their survival.

The CRF plans to launch CeruleanAI next year and offer it to other conservation groups either free or on a sliding scale, depending on their needs. However, the use of AI also has an environmental impact, as training AI models requires a lot of energy and can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this, researchers argue that in this case, the benefits of using AI to mitigate the effects of climate change on the world's oceans outweigh the potential environmental risks.

Key takeaways:

  • The Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) in Florida is using a new tool called CeruleanAI, which uses AI to analyze 3D maps of reefs, helping to monitor restoration efforts and provide insights into how to make the biggest impact.
  • Traditional methods of monitoring coral restoration, such as manually taking notes on individual corals, are time-consuming and risk missing the bigger picture of the reef's overall health.
  • CRF plans to launch CeruleanAI early next year and offer it on a sliding scale or free to other conservation groups, depending on their needs.
  • While AI can be a powerful tool in conservation efforts, it's important to consider its environmental footprint, as training AI models requires a significant amount of energy and could contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
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