Google Maps Forests Worldwide Using Satellites and AI
Google DeepMind and the World Resources Institute have released a new global map that sorts forests and other land into six categories, including primary forest, plantations and tree crops. It could help track forest loss under EU rules. The source notes the map has limits, but the rest of its detail is cut off in the report.
Quick glossaryGoogle DeepMind, deforestation, EU rules
- Google DeepMind
- Google's AI research lab in London, best known for AlphaFold, which predicts protein shapes, and for game-playing AI systems.
- deforestation
- The clearing of forest land, often for farming or building, which removes trees and changes the local environment.
- EU rules
- Laws from the European Union that set requirements for trade and business, including checks on whether products come from cleared forest land.
Burning Potato score: 76%