Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to conserve the Amazon rainforest by detecting and tracking threats at a level as small as a single tree. Previously, it might take months or even years before an illegal logging operation or an incursion by cattle farmers was spotted. Now, these can be picked up before the first whine of the chainsaw. In the Brazilian state of Acre, indigenous forest agents from the Shanenawa people are using drones and GPS monitoring in collaboration with a sophisticated AI tool. Developed by Microsoft and Brazilian non-profit Imazon, it helps predict where incursions look likely to occur, allowing local people to nip them in the bud.

Companies are utilizing AI tools to drill down through a huge range of data – from satellites, radar, on-the-ground monitoring, and more besides – to spot where an individual farmer on a remote plot of land in Borneo, might be starting to clear forest for palm, allowing time for prompt intervention. This kind of detailed observation is now being used by companies under pressure from activists, consumers and, increasingly, investors and governments, to prove that their supply chains are ‘deforestation-free’.

AI is helping to conserve the planet’s last remaining wild places and improve human health. It can even anticipate the outbreak of wildfires, allowing intervention before they explode out of control. It is important, however, to bear in mind that the unrestrained use of artificial intelligence can bring damage to the planet. Therefore, there is an urgent need for greater transparency and democratic control, for robust ethical guidelines to govern its use.