“Journalists are increasingly using satellite imagery and machine learning to detect illegal resource extraction in remote rainforests, where on-the-ground investigations can be difficult and dangerous. The Pulitzer Center and the nonprofit Earth Genome have used these tools to create systems that monitor the Amazon and tropical forests in Africa, flagging suspicious changes for reporters to investigate,” reports The Doomslayer.
“Satellite imagery has long helped investigative journalists gather intelligence on conflict zones and track changes in remote landscapes. Now, in a new wave of satellite-based investigations, reporters are leaning on machine learning models to automate parts of this work and scale up their analysis to an unprecedented degree,” notes a news article.
Venezuelan journalist Joseph Poliszuk “had exposed illegal gold mines, narcotrafficking operations, and crimes against indigenous groups scattered throughout the region’s rainforests.” But after being forced into exile, “Poliszuk was forced to reimagine how to do his work from thousands of miles away. He began experimenting with satellite-based investigations. As illegal gold mining spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, Poliszuk knew there was a story in documenting the growth of these mines across Venezuela’s rainforests.”
Four years ago, he published his first article using artificial intelligence and pattern recognition (a machine learning model).
Poliszuk identified 3,718 gold mines in the Venezuelan states of Amazonas and Bolívar. “Some of those mines were operating inside protected indigenous lands and Canaima National Park, which is home to Angel Falls, the world’s tallest waterfall. By crosschecking maps identifying mining activity with crime data from Venezuelan authorities, Poliszuk was also able to determine whether the mines were run by Venezuelan syndicates, Colombian guerilla groups, or Brazilian garimpeiro (prospectors). The week after Poliszuk published one of his first stories” about this, the Venezuelan military responded by bombing “several illegal airstrips operating in the region.”
Artificial intelligence is improving the detection of breast cancer. Artificial intelligence is also being used to generate highly-effective antibodies to fight disease.
An artificial intelligence algorithm outperforms radiologists in diagnosing prostate cancer from MRI scans, reports Inside Precision Medicine. It also cuts false positive diagnoses in half, according to a study by medical researchers.
The usefulness of artificial intelligence in medicine is a reason to fight legislation to micromanage AI algorithms, such as the legislation opposed by the late Stuart Baker, which could stifle innovation and increase harmful red tape.
