Artificial Intelligence To Solve Poaching Problems? AI Aims To Boost Efforts Of Protection Of Endangered Animals

Artificial intelligence (AI) is proving its usefulness to mankind despite the warning of several experts involved in the development of AI that it could rise up against humans. But through the use of artificial intelligence and game theory, researchers found it could potentially outwit poaching, illegal logging and other global problems.

Poaching And How Can It Be Stopped

Poaching is a centuries-old problem that remains to be a huge threat to wildlife. It is one of the major reasons why there are so many endangered animals today.

Fortunately, the National Science Foundation, along with Army Research Office and in collaboration with researchers and conservationist in the United States, Singapore, Netherlands and Malaysia, have found a clever solution to beat poaching. According to Popular Science, researchers are currently using artificial intelligence that incorporates a game theory model for wildlife protection named, PAWS aka Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security.

What Is PAWS?

The artificial intelligence-driven application called PAWS was first created in 2013 and it was tested in Uganda and Malaysia in 2014. The application used the data of past patrols and poaching evidence, but its major technical advance was its ability to incorporate complex terrain information such as the topography of protected areas, Science Daily notes.

PAWS is also capable of randomizing patrols that can keep poachers from learning a pattern and predicting when a wildlife officer may be nearby. This artificial intelligence-driven app, which was already used by non-government Malaysian organizations Panthera and Rimbat, is also similar to the technology used by the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration.

The Game Theory

PAWS also relies on the use of game theory or "green security games," Tech Times learns. As defined by Roger Myerson, the game theory used mathematical models of rational cooperation and conflict to predict how an enemy behaves.

PAWS And CAPTURE

To predict wildlife attacks more accurately, PAWS was recently combined with another artificial intelligence algorithm called CAPTURE aka Comprehensive Anti-Poaching Tool with Temporal and Observation Uncertainty Reasoning. The collaboration was reportedly useful in determining the location where animal trafficking and other wildlife cargo were taken, as per Immortal News.

Artificial Intelligence And Illegal Logging

Aside from poaching, artificial intelligence is also useful in combatting illegal loggers. That's why, researchers created SORT aka Simultaneous Optimization of Resource Teams to determine the most efficient ways to protect and monitor the forests.

So far, SORT has been tested using data from Madagascar. The project reportedly takes into consideration the maps of national parks as well as models using the budget constraints.

Meanwhile, the study was presented at the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence in February. It showed the potential impact of artificial intelligence application to global issues such as poaching and illegal logging.

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