Canada AI Project Aims to Reverse Mass Insect Extinction

AFP/APP

Montreal: Researchers in Canada are harnessing artificial intelligence to monitor and combat the alarming mass extinction of insects, with hopes of gathering data to reverse species collapse and avert ecological catastrophe.

“Of all the mass extinctions we have experienced in the past, the one affecting insects is happening a thousand times faster,” said Maxim Larrivee, director of the Montreal Insectarium. The rapidity of the decline makes it challenging to track, let alone implement measures to slow it down, he explained.

Technology Meets Conservation

The Montreal-based initiative, known as Antenna, is leveraging innovative technologies to gather critical data. Research is being conducted inside the Insectarium, where thousands of butterflies, ants, and praying mantises are observed under a transparent dome.

Additionally, solar-powered camera traps equipped with UV lights have been deployed across diverse regions, from Canada’s far north to the rainforests of Panama. These cameras capture insect activity every 10 seconds, providing invaluable data for analysis.

AI and Data Revolution

Larrivee emphasized the transformative potential of advanced tools like high-resolution cameras, low-cost sensors, and AI-driven data processing. These technologies could enable researchers to double the amount of biodiversity data collected over the past 150 years within just two to five years.

“Even for us, it sounds like science fiction,” Larrivee remarked with a wide grin, reflecting the excitement surrounding the project’s potential to address this urgent environmental challenge.