The Japanese government is planning to trial an artificial intelligence system for spotting wild bears to better deal with an increasing number of attacks by the animals on humans, a government source said Monday. Under the system, AI will use security camera footage to instantly detect bears and share the information with the relevant authorities. The pilot scheme is planned to begin by summer in Toyama Prefecture, central Japan.
If found to be effective, the AI system could be rolled out to prefectures where frequent bear sightings near residential areas have been reported, the source said.
The plan comes in response to the 198 bear attacks on humans across 19 prefectures in the previous fiscal year, which ended in March. The incidents resulted in 219 casualties including six deaths, record highs since fiscal 2006 when comparable data became available.
From the article: