British scientists predict the risk of extinction of all plants using artificial intelligence

A team of scientists from Kew Botanic Gardenin the English city of Richmond (near London), used artificial intelligence (AI) to predict the extinction risk of all existing plant species rose.

According to the study published in the magazine New BotanistExperts created a predictive model to analyze a total of 328,565 known specimens of this type.

Although the risk of extinction of 53,000 of them was already known, it is now artificial intelligence It allows you to estimate when a particular type of plant will disappear, with a level of confidence for each prediction.

Thus, the researchers aim to make plant conservation “more accessible and attractive” to the general public and, in this way, increase awareness and action to protect plants. Biodiversity.

As of Tuesday, to access the research content, it will be enough to type the scientific name of the plant on the web Kew Plants of the World OnlineAccording to the information, data on the risk of its extinction will be included.

The expert Steven BachmanThe study's author and head of research for the Botanical Center's Conservation Assessment and Analysis Team expressed hope that the findings would encourage a “commitment” to protecting endangered species.

“Our findings could help scientists prioritize and accelerate extinction assessments of plants that we have identified as vulnerable, but have not been formally analysed,” he said.

In an earlier version of the study, its authors had already determined that nearly half of all flowering plant species in the world — 45% — were at risk.

to Amir Nick LadhaHead of the team's research department Bachmann And also the author of the study, knowledge is the key to protecting Biodiversity.

“Assessment can literally change the fate of a plant, because when its risk of extinction is known, priority can be given to its conservation,” he said.