Lost in the wild? AI could find you

Hikers stranded in remote areas with no cell service or WiFi might have a new lifeline: AI.The big picture: AI is helping some rescue teams find missing people faster by scanning satellite and drone images.Zoom in: "AI's contribution is that it can dramatically reduce the time to process imagery and do it more accurately than humans," David Kovar, director of advocacy for NASAR and CEO of cybersecurity company URSA Inc., tells Axios.Context: It's just one of many resources rescue teams use to help them, Kovar stresses.AI already is eerily good at geolocating where photos are taken.Last month, the body of a hiker lost for nearly a year was found in Italy in a matter of hours after The National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps used AI to analyze a series of drone images.The intrigue: We also know when people are given the option to share their location as a safety measure, they do it.What's next: AI agents could be trained to fly drones via an automated system. It's a theory Jan-Hendrik Ewers made the subject of his PhD at the University of Glasgow. "You could have a fully automated system that monitors reports and triggers drone-based search efforts before a human has lifted a finger," Ewers tells Axios.Barriers to implementing this kind of system are many: money, politics and the fact that when lives are at stake, relying on experimental AI could complicate efforts. The other side: Some lost people don't want to be found. And, lost people can't consent.Nearly everyone will want this help, but "there will be cases where, for example, a person who is a victim of domestic violence says she's going out hiking, but she's not. She's not intending to come back," Greg Nojeim, senior counsel and director for Democracy & Technology's Security and Surveillance Project tells Axios.AI ethics depend on the circumstances, and who is using it, William Budington, senior staff technologist at nonprofit advocacy organization Electronic Frontier Foundation, tells Axios.If it's used to save lives and private data used in a rescue operation is wiped after a hiker is found, there is less of a concern, he says."But, using it to scan images or locate and surveil people, especially those that don't want to be found — either just for privacy reasons, or political dissidents, perhaps — that's a worrying possibility."Reality check: First responders must follow HIPAA guidelines for health information, while law enforcement must adhere to privacy laws with all gathered data, including search results and AI use.The bottom line: If you don't want AI looking for you, hike smart.

Comments

World news

Scorned teacher-wife blows the whistle on NYC principal’s alleged affair with younger married educator: report

Independent

Comments

Similar News

RFK Jr.'s vaccine pullback stokes fears of lost medical breakthroughs

Dmitri Kozak Was a Key Putin Aide. He Lost Power When He Balked at the Ukraine War.

Canada lost 41K jobs in July, but unemployment rate holds steady at 6.9%

How ex-Labour homelessness minister lost two housing jobs

A far-right ‘1st Amendment’ group lost its defamation lawsuit. Now the New York Times is suing them back

How Trump Lost the War on Climate—to China

No reports of structures lost in Wesley Ridge fire but no timeline for people to return home

Trump wonders if ‘low IQ’ foe Jasmine Crockett ‘is any relationship to the late, great Davy’ as he rips ‘lost’ Democrats

Shipwreck explorer Joe Mazraani dies on deep-sea dive to find lost Atlantic steamer

The world just lost its health report card. Now what?

Brit couple's son boards flight to wrong country while lost at busy Spanish airport

What Is Lost in Luka Dončić’s Glow-Up

An American Team Went to Combat Haiti’s Gangs, Then Lost Two of Its Own

Delta Air Lines sued over man’s use of lost iPad to record explicit videos

‘Childish’ Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘chaotic… toxic’ workplace: Goop has lost 140 staff in two years, new bio claims

Bonnie Blue has lost touch with reality – I feel sorry for her

Diver's horrifying death after stabbing himself in heart while lost in underwater labyrinth

Trump’s desperate attack on South Park shows he has already lost his war with the media

Kelly Osbourne lost 'best friend' after Ozzy's death

Suspect accused of running from police and then asking for help after getting lost in woods

World news

Scorned teacher-wife blows the whistle on NYC principal’s alleged affair with younger married educator: report

MTG cashed in on ICE contractor’s big win but Trump goes after ‘disgusting degenerate’ Nancy Pelosi over stocks

Defiant Netanyahu vows to ‘finish the job’ in planned takeover of Gaza

Mapped: What parts of Ukraine does Russia control as Trump suggests land swap for peace?

Temperatures to hit 34C as heat alerts issued for fourth summer heatwave

Putin is running circles around Trump and his band of diplomatic amateurs

UK military ‘too stretched’ to provide troops under Ukraine peace deal

Israeli PM vows to defeat Hamas as he condemns 'global campaign of lies' over starving Gazans

Trump suggests "MAGA" stock listing for mortgage giants Fannie, Freddie

David Sacks' "Goldilocks" scenario

Recipe: Pasta alla Vodka

Turkey holidaymaker shares travel warning as he exclaims 'don't bother coming'

Thousands of Israelis demand end to Netanyahu's war in Gaza after horrific takeover plans

British dad suffered two symptoms before dying from 'half cooked hotel chicken'

Adidas designer sorry for shoes 'appropriated' from Mexico

Man killed and nine rushed to hospital as broccoli recalled across Italy in deadly outbreak

Nerve-racking moment politician suffers a stroke during live TV interview

Jack Grealish keen on Everton move

I’m a teacher, but I don’t understand the obsession with university

We&#8217;re hardwired for negativity. That doesn&#8217;t mean we&#8217;re doomed to it.

Nepal's LGBTQ+ community holds first Pride rally since US funding cuts

RFK Jr.'s vaccine pullback stokes fears of lost medical breakthroughs

AI and Trump put squeeze on consulting firms as industry's post-pandemic boom fades

Lost in the wild? AI could find you

There may not be a song of the summer, but there's certainly a sound

Benidorm holidaymakers say 'its gone so downhill' as crime warning given

Aerial footage shows devastation after deadly floods in China

Jubilant scenes but bumpy road ahead in post-Hasina Bangladesh

Meteorite that hit home is older than Earth, scientists say

What Israel's plans for a military takeover of Gaza City means for Palestinians

In Nigeria, the government is cracking down on money spraying at festive events

Far-Right Israeli Minister Calls for Quicker Military Moves in Gaza

How to avoid fumbling your NFL fantasy football draft party

Two tourists drown at sea amid gale-force winds in Greece

California took center stage in ICE raids, but other states saw more immigration arrests

'A continual assault.' How UCLA's research faculty is grappling with Trump funding freeze

Should L.A. look to 'sponge cities' to solve its flooding problem?

Let's imagine a future that works for all of us

Stunning pictures show how Sturgeon Moon lit up skies around the world

How Trump’s state-map meddling started a political arms race

Pregnant women and heart disease patients among 13 million denied winter Covid jabs

Can’t commit to vegetarianism but want animals to suffer less? You’ve got options.

European leaders rally behind Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin meeting

Taliban investigating death threats against United Nations' Afghan female staff, report says

Transform your space with these wire-free lighting upgrades

British dad dies after eating 'half-cooked' chicken in plush 4-star holiday hotel

American who moved to UK shares three words they never said until ditching States

Dad of Brit family-of-four killed in Portugal car crash celebrated milestone DAYS before trip

Surgeon assaults patients on operating table before horrifying double life emerges

Can Democrats Fight Back Against Trump’s Redistricting Scheme?

'Your suffering doesn't matter': Harvard psychologist tackles Jews' 'traumatic invalidation'

Jennifer Aniston is making me a bad feminist

Farage faces backlash from younger Reform voters over net zero policies

I met my husband online but he can’t get a UK visa because I earn too little

3 elves cycle from German town to Finland's Santa Claus Village

Four members of UK family die in crash on holiday in Portugal

Donald Trump given two-word assessment by ambassador ahead of meeting with King Charles

We’re hardwired for negativity. That doesn’t mean we’re doomed to it.