{"id":8087,"date":"2024-02-08T14:10:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T03:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=8087"},"modified":"2024-10-21T20:19:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T10:19:58","slug":"ai-set-to-disrupt-28-of-global-forestry-goldman-sachs-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/ai-set-to-disrupt-28-of-global-forestry-goldman-sachs-report\/","title":{"rendered":"AI is Disrupting Global Forestry: Goldman Sachs Explains How!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New data from the United States paints an interesting picture for the future of work as the global workforce braces for an AI takeover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, much talk has been about what jobs will be lost to AI, and the forest products sector is no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using data from Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research, Morgan Stanley Capital International has ranked industries<\/a> by their estimated share of employment exposed to AI-driven automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Office and administrative support are top of the list, with an estimated 46 per cent of these jobs facing potential replacement by AI-driven automation, followed by legal (44%), architecture and engineering (37%), life, physical and social science (36%), and business and financial operations (35%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last week, “Visual<\/a> Capitalist<\/a>” used Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research to rank the industries most impacted by AI and automation. (Image credit: MSCI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Forestry among the top 10 industries impacted by AI<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Farming, fishing, and forestry (28%) rounded out the top 10 – above the 25% average across all industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report, agriculture – which broadly incorporates farming, fishing and forestry, will be subject to major disruption – with up to 90% of agricultural workers subject to automation to varying degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Goldman Sachs ‘ranked’ various industries from most impacted to least impacted. According to the research, up to 90% of agriculture will have between 10-49% of work duties replaced by AI. (Image credit: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In September 2018<\/a>, the World Economic Forum (WEF) reported that “AI could be the game changer for the world’s forests.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, the WEF noted that forest management is a good example of how technology-first approaches can quickly deliver results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Predictive analytics and machine learning models,” the WEF said, are “helping scientists and authorities in different parts of the world in the quest for better forest management – this also includes restoring areas damaged by fires, logging, or clear-cutting.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The research assessed AI and automation’s impact on Emerging Markets (EM) and Developed Markets (DM). It found that AI and automation had a much greater impact in agricultural industries on DM rather than in EM. (Image credit: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now, Wood Central reports that forest managers are using AI and Big Data worldwide to monitor biodiversity loss and carbon management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It comes as Metsa Wood has partnered with <\/a>CollectiveCrunch<\/a> – the software company behind “Linda Planet” – to develop a new app to target forest bark beetles in forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a 2022 study<\/a>, bark beetle outbreaks are responsible for the loss of large areas of forests, and in recent years, they appear to be increasing in frequency and magnitude due to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By analysing a combination of various data sets, the AI-powered solution detects subtle patterns and anomalies associated with bark beetle infestations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Detecting the early signs of bark beetles, and monitoring changes such as storm damage in near real-time, is vital for forest owners to take swift and appropriate actions to mitigate their impact,” according to Jarkko Lipponen, CEO of CollectiveCrunch<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The new technology will provide early detection of bark beetle infestation in forests. (Photo Credit: US Forest Service)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Flash Forest drones are now being deployed to Canada<\/a> to drive one of the world’s most ambitious tree-planting programmes as the region recovers from massive wildfires. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Flash Forest will be planting at several post-wildfire sites this northern spring across the south and central of British Columbia,” according to CEO and co-founder Bryce Jones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flash Forest<\/a> employs autonomous drone technology, automation, and ecological expertise to restore forested areas affected by wildfires. Designed to address the pressing demands of the global climate emergency, its automated aerial reforestation system offers enhanced speed, accessibility, and safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its long-term aim is to use AI and drone technology to “reforest the earth with 1 billion more trees over the next five years”, and it partnered with fire-optics giant Telus Communications to deliver reforestation projects in Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most crucially, the solution makes it possible to plant trees three times cheaper and five times faster than conventional hand and shovel methods while also servicing wildfire-impacted areas that traditional methods cannot easily address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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