The Nature of AI: Solving the Planet's Data Gap with Drew Purves

In this episode of the Google DeepMind podcast, Professor Hannah Fry interviews Drew Purves, Nature Lead at Google DeepMind, about the application of AI in protecting the planet's ecosystems. They discuss how AI can address the lack of information hindering conservation efforts by mapping biodiversity, identifying areas for ecological restoration, and aiding decision-making. Purves outlines three key categories: AI for data collection, creating derived information from combined data sources, and actively deploying AI to assist decision-making. The conversation covers the Natural Forest of the World project, which uses AI to map and monitor forests, and Perch, a project using bioacoustics to monitor species and assess the health of ecosystems, including underwater environments. They also explore the potential of AI in decoding animal communication and the future of AI in predicting ecosystem changes to inform better conservation strategies.