Intelligent Earth Seminar: Kate Jones (UCL)

29 October 14:00
Seminar Room 1a, Doctoral Training Centre, 1-4 Keble Rd & Online

 

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Kate Jones, Professor of Ecology and Biodiversity is an ecologist whose interdisciplinary research investigates the interface of ecological and human health. Her research understands the impact of global land use and climate change on ecological and human systems, with a particular focus on emerging infectious diseases from animals. Kate’s work also focuses on generating better tools for monitoring the status of wildlife populations, developing some of the first applied artificial intelligence tools for monitoring ecosystems, and further understanding how citizen science data can be used to understand biodiversity trends.

Emerging opportunities for AI in ecological monitoring

Rapid advances in AI and sensor technology are transforming how we monitor ecosystems and respond to climate and biodiversity crises. From satellite imagery and acoustic sensors to camera traps and citizen science platforms, these tools now generate vast ecological datasets that AI can process at unprecedented scales. In this talk, I explore how machine learning is being used to detect species, track ecosystem health, and inform global sustainability targets, drawing on examples from my own work across the world. I also highlights key challenges such as bias, governance, and energy use and I argue for interdisciplinary, ethical approaches to environmental intelligence.