Sarah Grace Goolden
Opinions Editor

In California alone, there were 6,872 fires this year. They ravaged cities and destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres. The aftermath also affected the air quality, resulting in many people being warned to stay inside until the smog decreased. Fires are a devastating natural disaster but hopefully the use of AI will help the U.S. prevent some of these tragedies.

Descartes Labs is  a Sante Fe-based startup company which uses artificial intelligence to analyze satellite images. This year they launched a wildfire detector, which can record changes in weather which might indicate the start of a fire. The device has detected over 6,000 so far. 

It is important to utilize this changing technology in ways that can keep us safe. The old methods of spotting fires by plane or civilians on the ground are much less effective and much more dangerous. This technology can detect fires before they get really bad and are too large to handle. 

Hopefully, there will be more and more technological advancements to help prevent these human tragedies and keep our forests safe.

Categories: Opinions