Via The Economist, a look at initial steps to digitize our forests by using new technology to sniff out fires long before they spread out of control: The fires went on for three relentless days in the summer of 2021, scorching over 13,000 hectares of western Sardinia. Residents “saw their whole world go up in flames

Via Wired, a look at how – with big cash prizes at stake and AI supercharging research—interspecies translation is closer than ever. But what, if anything, would animals want to tell us? In 2025 we will see AI and machine learning leveraged to make real progress in understanding animal communication, answering a question that has

Via MIT Technology Review, a look at how – after decades of frustration – machine-learning tools are unlocking a treasure trove of acoustic data for ecologists: A small songbird soars above Ithaca, New York, on a September night. He is one of 4 billion birds, a great annual river of feathered migration across North America.

Via Wired, a report on how the internet of things turned every device in your house into a smart something. Now it’s coming for nature—to track forest fires and tree health or to listen out for threatened animals. You are in a lush forest. Sunlight filters through the bright green canopy, casting dappled shadows on the

Via BBC, a look at how conservationists are turning to AI in their battle to save red squirrels: An artificial intelligence (AI) tool which has been trained to tell the difference between grey and red squirrels could be “an absolute game changer”, conservationists say. The system, called Squirrel Agent, has been trained on thousands of

Via Wired, a report on Swarovski Optik’s new AX Visio binoculars which use image-recognition algorithms and GPS data to discern the species of whatever bird you point them at. And they work anywhere in the world. Photo-Illustration: Ali Cherkis; Getty Images The Austrian company Swarovski Optik has been innovating in long-range optical instruments