Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Could we use the sound of a coral reef to determine its health? Do we know where all the world's natural forests are? And are we on the verge of using AI to decode animal communication? In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry is joined by Drew Purves, Nature Lead at Google DeepMind. They explore how AI is helping ecologists map forests and species for the first time in history and how this data can be used to better understand the root causes of deforestation.
They also explore bioacoustics and how sound is playing a pivotal role in tracking species on land and underwater —providing a powerful new way for us to understand and protect the environment.
Timecodes:
00:00 Coming up
00:43 Introduction
03:35 AI for nature
05:30 Mapping the biosphere
16:14 Deforestation drivers
19:45 Species mapping
26:50 Perch and acoustic ecology
37:00 Animal communication
38:55 The future of ecology with AI
40:33 Hannah's thoughts
___
Further reading:
Natural forests of the world:
sciety.org/articles/activity/10.31223/x5zx6p
github.com/google-deepmind/forest_typology
Forest loss drivers
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/add606
wri.org/insights/forest-loss-drivers-data-trends
globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-tools/new-drivers-data-forest-loss
Perch
github.com/google-research/perch
nature.com/articles/s41598-023-49989-z.epdf
https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/a-new-ai-tool-to-help-monitor-coral-reef-health/
Deep learning based remote sensing (open source)
github.com/google-deepmind/jeo
github.com/google-deepmind/geeflow
Species mapping paper
arxiv.org/abs/2503.11900
Google resources
earthengine.google.com
agri.withgoogle.com
https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/entrepreneurs/ai-nature-climate-accelerator-nonprofits-speciesnet/
Agile modeling
arxiv.org/abs/2505.03071
github.com/google-research/perch-hoplite
DolphinGemma
https://blog.google/technology/ai/dolphingemma/
___
Thanks to everyone who made this possible, including but not limited to:
Presenter: Professor Hannah Fry
Series Producer: Dan Hardoon
Editor: Rami Tzabar
Commissioner & Producer: Emma Yousif
Music composition: Eleni Shaw
Audio engineer: Richard Courtice
Production Manager: Dan Lazard
Studio Manager: Nicholas Duke
Video Director: Bernardo Resende
Video Editor: Bilal Merhi
Audio Engineer: Perry Rogantin
Camera and Lighting Operator: Robert Messere
Production Coordination: Zoey Roberts, Sarah Ellen Morton
Visual Identity and Design: Rob Ashley
Commissioned by Google DeepMind
___
Subscribe to our channel youtube.com/@googledeepmind
Find us on X twitter.com/GoogleDeepMind
Follow us on Instagram instagram.com/googledeepmind
Add us on Linkedin linkedin.com/company/deepmind
Could we use the sound of a coral reef to determine its health? Do we know where all the world's natural forests are? And are we on the verge of using AI to decode animal communication? In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry is joined by Drew Purves, Nature Lead at Google DeepMind. They explore how AI is helping ecologists map forests and species for the first time in history and how this data can be used to better understand the root causes of deforestation.
They also explore bioacoustics and how sound is playing a pivotal role in tracking species on land and underwater —providing a powerful new way for us to understand and protect the environment.
Timecodes:
00:00 Coming up
00:43 Introduction
03:35 AI for nature
05:30 Mapping the biosphere
16:14 Deforestation drivers
19:45 Species mapping
26:50 Perch and acoustic ecology
37:00 Animal communication
38:55 The future of ecology with AI
40:33 Hannah's thoughts
___
Further reading:
Natural forests of the world:
sciety.org/articles/activity/10.31223/x5zx6p
github.com/google-deepmind/forest_typology
Forest loss drivers
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/add606
wri.org/insights/forest-loss-drivers-data-trends
globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-tools/new-drivers-data-forest-loss
Perch
github.com/google-research/perch
nature.com/articles/s41598-023-49989-z.epdf
https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/a-new-ai-tool-to-help-monitor-coral-reef-health/
Deep learning based remote sensing (open source)
github.com/google-deepmind/jeo
github.com/google-deepmind/geeflow
Species mapping paper
arxiv.org/abs/2503.11900
Google resources
earthengine.google.com
agri.withgoogle.com
https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/entrepreneurs/ai-nature-climate-accelerator-nonprofits-speciesnet/
Agile modeling
arxiv.org/abs/2505.03071
github.com/google-research/perch-hoplite
DolphinGemma
https://blog.google/technology/ai/dolphingemma/
___
Thanks to everyone who made this possible, including but not limited to:
Presenter: Professor Hannah Fry
Series Producer: Dan Hardoon
Editor: Rami Tzabar
Commissioner & Producer: Emma Yousif
Music composition: Eleni Shaw
Audio engineer: Richard Courtice
Production Manager: Dan Lazard
Studio Manager: Nicholas Duke
Video Director: Bernardo Resende
Video Editor: Bilal Merhi
Audio Engineer: Perry Rogantin
Camera and Lighting Operator: Robert Messere
Production Coordination: Zoey Roberts, Sarah Ellen Morton
Visual Identity and Design: Rob Ashley
Commissioned by Google DeepMind
___
Subscribe to our channel youtube.com/@googledeepmind
Find us on X twitter.com/GoogleDeepMind
Follow us on Instagram instagram.com/googledeepmind
Add us on Linkedin linkedin.com/company/deepmind
