Watch the recording here.

Zoom.

Date: March 13

Time: 2 pm

Location: LINC 268

Speaker: Tanya Berger-Wolf, Professor, Ohio State University 

Abstract: 

Computation has fundamentally changed the way we study nature. New data collection technologies, such as GPS, high-definition cameras, autonomous vehicles under water, on the ground, and in the air, genotyping, acoustic sensors, and crowdsourcing, are generating data about life on the planet that are orders of magnitude richer than any previously collected. Yet, our ability to extract insight from these data lags substantially behind our ability to collect it. 

The need for understanding is more urgent ever and the challenges are great. We are in the middle of the 6th mass extinction, losing the planet's biodiversity at an unprecedented rate and scale. In many cases, we do not even have the basic numbers of what species we are losing, which impacts our ability to understand biodiversity loss drivers, predict the impact on ecosystems, and implement policy.

The talk will discuss how AI can turn these data into high resolution information source about living organisms, enabling scientific inquiry, conservation, and policy decisions. It will introduce a new field of science, imageomics, and present a vision and examples of AI as a trustworthy partner both in science and biodiversity conservation, discussing opportunities and challenges.

Bio:

Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf is a Professor of Computer Science Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at the Ohio State University, where she is also the Director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute. A pioneer in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for ecology, biodiversity, and conservation, she leads the NSF-funded Imageomics Institute and the US-Canada co-funded AI and Biodiversity Change (ABC) Global Center.

Dr. Berger-Wolf serves as a scientific advisor and board member for many organizations, including the US National Academies Board on Life Sciences, US National Committee for the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI)/OECD, National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), and The Nature Conservancy. She co-founded the AI for conservation non-profit Wild Me (now part of Conservation X Labs), creator of Wildbook, recognized by UNESCO for advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Her contributions have earned numerous honors, including recognition as the AI 100 Global Thought Leaders by H20.ai and the OSU College of Engineering Lumley Interdisciplinary Research Award. She is an elected Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI).