Every autumn, millions of monarch butterflies depart from the US and fly toward the Mexican state of Michoacán, home of oyamel fir forests. Due to human activity, however, their numbers are dwindling despite the best efforts of environmentalists who put their lives on the line to defend the monarchs. Champions of the orange butterflies in Mexico stare the possibility of death in the face daily, as their calls to preserve the forests put them at odds with cartels, illegal loggers, and even avocado farmers who want to exploit the forest. Read full article here
Societal Issues
AI Predicts Crime A Week In Advance With 90 Per Cent Accuracy
An artificial intelligence model built by Ishanu Chattopadhyay and his colleagues analysed crime data in Chicago from 2014 to 2016 and managed to predict future levels of crime down to the nearest 300 metres, a week before they actually happened. While extremely useful, this artificial intelligence has been shown to expose racial prejudice in law enforcement. Hopefully, as the study’s data and methodology have been made available for others to evaluate, these prejudices can be avoided in the next iteration. Read full article here
Merv
August 15, 2022
