How drones and AI are protecting endangered wildlife

It is no small irony that as humanity destroys more and more of the natural world, it concurrently increases its ability to both study and protect it. We are living through the largest period of extinction since the dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago, with multiple species wiped from the Earth each day at a rate estimated to be 1,000-10,000 times faster than normal. Technology has, of course, played a fundamental role in this anthropogenic disaster. Now, researchers are hoping to harness technology to protect what we have left.

At a recent conference hosted by the Born Free Foundation and the British International Education Association (BIEA), conservationists outlined how technology is being applied both for ecological study and protection. Using a combination of drones, citizen science and artificial intelligence, the front lines in the conservation battle are being redrawn.

“We’re currently experiencing a big problem with extinction in the world,” Dr Josh Veitch-Michaelis told the conference. “There are five species that will go extinct today. There are less than half as many animals in the world as there were 30 years ago. And the World Economic Forum has ranked this as a top 10 threat to humanity.”