With the increasing public interest in artificial intelligence (AI), there is also increasing interest in learning about the benefits that AI can deliver to society. This book focuses on research advances in AI that benefit the conservation of wildlife, forests, coral reefs, rivers, and other natural resources. It presents how the joint efforts of researchers in computer science, ecology, economics, and psychology help address the goals of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Written at a level accessible to conservation professionals and AI researchers, the book offers both an overview of the field and an in-depth view of how AI is being used to understand patterns in wildlife poaching and enhance patrol efforts in response, covering research advances, field tests and real-world deployments. The book also features efforts in other major conservation directions, including protecting natural resources, ecosystem monitoring, and bio-invasion management through the use of game theory, machine learning, and optimization.

Examining the potential benefits and risks of using artificial intelligence to advance global sustainability. Drones with night vision are tracking elephant and rhino poachers in African wildlife parks and sanctuaries; smart submersibles are saving coral from carnivorous starfish on Australia's Great Barrier Reef; recycled cell phones alert Brazilian forest rangers to the sound of illegal logging. The tools of artificial intelligence are being increasingly deployed in the battle for global sustainability. And yet, warns Peter Dauvergne, we should be cautious in declaring AI the planet's savior. In AI in the Wild, Dauvergne avoids the AI industry-powered hype and offers a critical view, exploring both the potential benefits and risks of using artificial intelligence to advance global sustainability.

"This book examines the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning civil, mechanical, and industrial engineering"--

An introductory guide with real-life examples on using AI to help homeless youth, diabetes patients, and other social welfare interventions.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Renewable energy systems, including solar, wind, biodiesel, hybrid energy, and other relevant types, have numerous advantages compared to their conventional counterparts. This book presents the application of machine learning and deep learning techniques for renewable energy system modeling, forecasting, and optimization for efficient system design. Due to the importance of renewable energy in today’s world, this book was designed to enhance the reader’s knowledge based on current developments in the field. For instance, the extraction and selection of machine learning algorithms for renewable energy systems, forecasting of wind and solar radiation are featured in the book. Also highlighted are intelligent data, renewable energy informatics systems based on supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA); and intelligent condition monitoring of solar and wind energy systems. Moreover, an AI-based system for real-time decision-making for renewable energy systems is presented; and also demonstrated is the prediction of energy consumption in green buildings using machine learning. The chapter authors also provide both experimental and real datasets with great potential in the renewable energy sector, which apply machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms that will be helpful for economic and environmental forecasting of the renewable energy business. Audience The primary target audience includes research scholars, industry engineers, and graduate students working in renewable energy, electrical engineering, machine learning, information & communication technology.

Data Science Applied to Sustainability Analysis focuses on the methodological considerations associated with applying this tool in analysis techniques such as lifecycle assessment and materials flow analysis. As sustainability analysts need examples of applications of big data techniques that are defensible and practical in sustainability analyses and that yield actionable results that can inform policy development, corporate supply chain management strategy, or non-governmental organization positions, this book helps answer underlying questions. In addition, it addresses the need of data science experts looking for routes to apply their skills and knowledge to domain areas. - Presents data sources that are available for application in sustainability analyses, such as market information, environmental monitoring data, social media data and satellite imagery - Includes considerations sustainability analysts must evaluate when applying big data - Features case studies illustrating the application of data science in sustainability analyses

"This volume reports 16 AI projects on engineering sustainability using AI, Machine Learning, Signal Processing, Databases and other Technologies (Hybrid AI). Sixty scientists contribute to the volume on ‘Boots on the Ground’ topics including fire fighting, forestry sustainability, flood prediction, algae bloom prediction, water pollution prediction, sewage treatment, recycling and resource consumption. There are also ‘Data, Data Everywhere’ topics including biodiversity cataloguing, plant physiology and climate modeling, forest ecosystem modelling, satellite data aggregation and viewing and weather forecasting. The contributions of each team of scientists, AI researchers and engineers has been assembled with a set of helpful questions and answers called “Classroom Connection” at the end of each chapter. The existence of this book serves to document the AI projects in existence and some of the people who have been actively working to create sustainability using AI. Inside you’ll find many examples of hybrid AI - systems so complex, they need every AI trick in the book to solve them, and then some. The book is presented at the 2019 U.N. Climate Summit in Madrid Spain."--Publisher's description.

Artificial Intelligence and Cultural Heritage represent a combination that for several years has interested both scientific and cultural institutions regarding the potential of possible interactions and aggregations among the various players in these areas. This volume defines roles and provides connections where research and new technologies can suggest routes and competitive solutions that integrate tourism and culture with business and the market. The volume is multidisciplinary, presenting and discussing a variety of new ideas, resulting from the integration of different scientific approaches. The papers brought together here deal with topics including the representation of cultural history, semantic digital archives, the use of analytic tools to support visitor interpretation, augmented reality, and robotics. As such, this book represents the detailed investigation of methodological and applicative aspects that the continued proliferation of computer applications in the cultural heritage field demands.

Land use and water resources are two major environmental issues which necessitate conservation, management, and maintenance practices through the use of various engineering techniques. Water scientists and environmental engineers must address the various aspects of flood control, soil conservation, rainfall-runoff processes, and groundwater hydrology. Watershed Management and Applications of AI provides the necessary principles of hydrology to provide practical strategies useful for the planning, design, and management of watersheds. The book also synthesizes novel new approaches, such as hydrological applications of machine learning using neural networks to predict runoff and using artificial intelligence for the prediction of groundwater fluctuations. Features: Presents hydrologic analysis and design along with soil conservation practices through proper watershed management techniques Provides analysis of land erosion and sediment transport in watersheds from small to large scale Includes estimations for runoff using different methodologies with systematic approaches for each Discusses water harvesting and development of water yield catchments This book will be a valuable resource for students in hydrology courses, environmental consultants, water resource engineers, and researchers in related water science and engineering fields.

Ecologists and natural resource managers are charged with making complex management decisions in the face of a rapidly changing environment resulting from climate change, energy development, urban sprawl, invasive species and globalization. Advances in Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, digitization, online data availability, historic legacy datasets, remote sensors and the ability to collect data on animal movements via satellite and GPS have given rise to large, highly complex datasets. These datasets could be utilized for making critical management decisions, but are often “messy” and difficult to interpret. Basic artificial intelligence algorithms (i.e., machine learning) are powerful tools that are shaping the world and must be taken advantage of in the life sciences. In ecology, machine learning algorithms are critical to helping resource managers synthesize information to better understand complex ecological systems. Machine Learning has a wide variety of powerful applications, with three general uses that are of particular interest to ecologists: (1) data exploration to gain system knowledge and generate new hypotheses, (2) predicting ecological patterns in space and time, and (3) pattern recognition for ecological sampling. Machine learning can be used to make predictive assessments even when relationships between variables are poorly understood. When traditional techniques fail to capture the relationship between variables, effective use of machine learning can unearth and capture previously unattainable insights into an ecosystem's complexity. Currently, many ecologists do not utilize machine learning as a part of the scientific process. This volume highlights how machine learning techniques can complement the traditional methodologies currently applied in this field.