Illegal wildlife trade is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity conservation and is currently expanding to social media. This is a worrisome trend, given the ease of access and popularity of social media. Efficient monitoring of illegal wildlife trade on social media is therefore crucial for conserving biodiversity.
In a new article published in the journal Conservation Biology, scientists from the University of Helsinki, Digital Geography Lab, argue that methods from artificial intelligence can be used to help monitor the illegal wildlife trade on social media.
Tools for conserving biodiversity
Dr. Enrico Di Minin, a conservation scientist at the University of Helsinki, who leads an interdisciplinary research group where methods from artificial intelligence are being developed and used to investigate the supply chain of the illegal wildlife trade in an innovative and novel way, stresses the importance of such novel methods to identify relevant data on the illegal wildlife trade from social media platforms.
“Currently, the lack of tools for efficient monitoring of high-volume social media data limits the capability of law enforcement agencies to curb illegal wildlife trade,” says Dr. Di Minin
“Processing such data manually is inefficient and time consuming, but methods from artificial intelligence, such as machine-learning algorithms, can be used to automatically identify relevant information. Despite their potential, approaches from artificial intelligence are still rarely used in addressing the biodiversity crisis”, he says.
Images, metadata and meaning of a sentences
Many social media platforms provide an application programming interface that allows researchers to access user-generated text, images and videos, as well as the accompanying metadata, such as where and when the content was uploaded, and connections between the users.
MSc Christoph Fink stresses how machine learning methods provide an efficient means of monitoring illegal wildlife trade on social media.
“Machine learning algorithms can be trained to detect which species or wildlife products, such as rhino horns, appear in an image or video contained in social media posts, while also classifying their setting, such as a natural habitat or a marketplace,” he says.
Assistant professor Tuomo Hiippala highlights how machine learning methods can be used to process the language of social media posts.
“Natural language processing can be used to infer the meaning of a sentence and to classify the sentiment of social media users towards illegal wildlife trade. Most importantly, machine learning algorithms can process combinations of verbal, visual and audio-visual content”, Hiippala says.
In the ongoing project, the researchers are applying machine learning methods to automatically identify content pertaining to illegal wildlife trade on social media. They also stress the importance of collaborating with law enforcement agencies and social media companies to further improve the outcomes of their work and help stop illegal wildlife trade on social media.
Learn more: Using artificial intelligence to investigate illegal wildlife trade on social media
The Latest on: Illegal wildlife trade
[google_news title=”” keyword=”illegal wildlife trade” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Illegal wildlife trade
- Border officials seize exotic animals as wildlife smuggling growson May 9, 2024 at 7:00 am
From 2018 to 2021, wildlife trafficking surged more than 150%, according to a Moody’s Analytics report, which cited government data. The illegal trade has become a breeding ground for corruption and a ...
- WATCH: Leopards held in illegal breeding facility in Poland travel almost 13,000 km to their new home in the Eastern Capeon May 6, 2024 at 9:30 am
The mother and daughter, Alda and Ginny, believed to be around 14 and eight-years-old have been re-homed at the Big Cat Sanctuary at the Shamwari Private Game Reserve.
- Tackling the illegal wildlife trade in Indiaon May 1, 2024 at 12:54 am
In 2015, the forests of southern India witnessed a great tragedy as 28 elephants fell victim to a mass poaching operation. The law enforcement response that followed, Operation Shikar, was one of the ...
- Poached for Its Horn, This Rare Bird Struggles to Surviveon April 25, 2024 at 12:53 am
The mysterious helmeted hornbill fades from Southeast Asia’s forests as poachers and traffickers target it for the illegal wildlife trade. In a forest in southern Thailand, a male helmeted ...
- ‘Interpol’ database for parrots caught in illegal wildlife tradeon April 23, 2024 at 6:24 pm
Parrots are, by number, among the most trafficked bird in the illegal wildlife trade, motivating Olah, from the Fenner School of Environment and Society at The Australian National University (ANU), to ...
- DNA database to help fight against illegal wildlife traffickingon April 22, 2024 at 8:51 pm
Scientists from Australia and the United Kingdom are developing genomic sequencing technology to save parrots caught in the illegal wildlife trade. They say their forensic methods are similar to a ...
- Saving parrots in the illegal wildlife trade with DNA technologyon April 22, 2024 at 8:29 am
Parrots, renowned for their vibrant colors and remarkable imitative abilities, are increasingly targeted by illegal wildlife trade operations. A forensic project led by scientists at The ...
- Breaking the chains: Dismantling the illegal parrot tradeon April 17, 2024 at 11:12 am
“Parrots are, by number, among the most trafficked birds in the illegal wildlife trade.” The researchers will collect samples from threatened species such as the yellow-crested Cockatoo or the ...
- WWF statement on closing of illegal wildlife trade in markets across the Asia Pacific Region following coronavirus outbreakon April 13, 2024 at 8:05 am
While the negative impact of the illegal wildlife trade on plant and animal populations and global biodiversity is apparent, the current spread of coronavirus, as well as SARS, MERS and other ...
via Bing News