MACHINE LEARNING: THE ROLE OF MACHINES FOR RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

Abstract

This chapter introduces the role of machine learning (ML) in resilience engineering and discusses actual cases of emergencies in which ML contributed positively. To identify its benefits within the resilience-relevant aspects (social, economic, infrastructural, institutional, environmental, and communitywise), the role of ML in various disaster management applications is analyzed, including model identification, emergency detection, and solution generation. The problem of data scarcity in model identification is presented. The application of ML in different fields of emergency detection (e.g., physical, virtual) is highlighted. Finally, the effectiveness of ML in solution generation to support human decision making is evaluated. Real examples are included in which machines exceed humans in providing solutions.