How AI could help us locate and study threatened birds

Think Out Loud

For researchers, endangered and threatened birds like the Northern Spotted Owl and the Marbled Murrelet can be incredibly hard to find and study in the wild. Now new research shows that artificial intelligence may be able to help. As first reported in Hakai Magazine, researchers have been training AI to correctly identify elusive species of birds in the wild through sound. Matthew Betts is a professor and chairs the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University. He coauthored the study and joins us to share more about the development of this AI and its implications for future research.