Google Will Use Artificial Intelligence to Save Corals
Google has developed an artificial intelligence that will enable marine biologists to better observe coral structures and their health conditions.
For the continuation of marine life, it is crucial that coral reefs remain healthy. Google has long supported efforts to protect reefs. Now, the tech giant has introduced an artificial intelligence tool called SurfPerch for marine biologists.
Developed by the Google Research and DeepMind teams, this AI was trained on thousands of hours of audio recorded in reefs. These recordings make it possible to “hear from within” whether the reefs are healthy. Additionally, this allows for the observation of reef life in murky waters or at night.
Fish Sounds Detected by Humans
On Google’s “Calling in our Corals” website, people listened to sounds from the reefs and clicked when they heard a fish sound. The bioacoustic data obtained from this was also used to train the AI. With Google’s new fish sounds library, the AI could be fine-tuned. SurfPerch can now be trained on new sounds very quickly.
Google noted that this method allows for much more sustainable data generation. Using the data and AI together, they succeeded in distinguishing between protected and unprotected reefs in the Philippines. The system also worked successfully in tests conducted on restored reefs in Indonesia and the Great Barrier Reef.
