Google’s AI promises to predict floods up to a week early،
These days, artificial intelligence (AI) is making waves in the news, from impressive advances to occasional hiccups like Google's latest Gemini incident. While some are concerned about the rapid advancement of AI and its implications for society, others see its beneficial potential if used correctly. And Google's latest initiative seems to be in the positive camp.
Google recently shared a paper explaining how its AI can predict flooding up to a week in advance (via Android titles). How? Using data from existing gauges, Google's AI crunches the numbers with powerful machine learning to determine when flooding tends to occur and what conditions make it likely. This information is then applied to areas where we do not have sufficient data.
Since 2017, Google has been on a mission to revolutionize flood forecasting, driven by the potential to save lives around the world. The company has ramped up its research while building a real-time flood forecasting system. This system sends alerts via Google Search, Maps, Android notifications and the Flood Center.
According to Google, its machine learning technology can significantly improve global flood forecasting, especially in places where flood data is scarce. With these AI improvements, the flood forecasting system can now predict flooding up to five days in advance, even in places like Africa and Asia, where it was previously a matter of 'a guessing game in relation to Europe.