Managing marine environmental pollution using Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

The marine environment has deteriorated to the extent that it has begun to impact human health and the planet itself. The primary causes of this deterioration are an increasing population, the Industrial Revolution, and the increased use of fossil fuels. While the damage done to the environment cannot be undone, the impact can be lessened with a better understanding of the ocean and with monitoring future pollution using technology. Such an effort will help achieve sustainability, as laid out by the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 of the United Nations. Though efforts have been made to monitor the ocean for pollutants, both physically and remotely, interpreting the data collected is a humungous task due to the high volume of data. In reply, technology again provides a solution. One such technology, namely ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (‘AI’), can be used to understand and monitor marine pollution, and is the topic of discussion in this article. In doing so, the article will discuss the emerging opportunities and risks associated with the use of AI in managing marine environmental pollution through sustainability. To strengthen the argument, use-cases of AI in the marine environment and their scalability are discussed. However, these cases are considered merely a stimulus for a better and a larger variety of solutions to follow in the ever-evolving domain of AI.