The Harvard CRCS workshop on AI-Assisted Decision-Making for Conservation aims to identify open research questions in resource-allocation, planning, and interventions for biodiversity conservation. In particular, we seek to pinpoint conservation challenges that not only require AI solutions, but require novel methodological advances. This workshop will bring together thought leaders across academia, industry, government, and NGOs with expertise in computation, conservation, and deploying research.
Much existing work at the intersection of AI and conservation uses computer vision for biodiversity monitoring, such as supervised learning approaches to classify animals or land cover. This workshop aims to look ahead at ways to leverage and develop AI methodology for planning and policy-making, with the goal of helping conservation managers make decisions.
Schedule
PDF of slides available for each talk.
Participants: for detailed schedule and talk information, please refer to the Google Doc shared via email by Lily and Esther.
Day 1: Challenges and Opportunities in Conservation
Thursday, October 20
Day 2: Methods and Synthesis
Friday, October 21
8:30am | Breakfast |
9:00am |
Session 4: Remote sensing and earth observation |
10:50am | Break |
11:20am |
Session 5: Causality and economics for conservation Robert Heilmayr, Conservation Impact Evaluation Using Remotely Sensed Data Nikhil Garg, Auditing and Designing for Equity in Government Service Allocation Andrew Perrault, Sequential decision-making in complex partially observable environments |
12:30pm | Lunch |
1:30pm | Collaborative writing |
2:15pm |
Panel on partnerships: the role of academia Tanya Berger-Wolf, Justin Brashares, Claire Monteleoni, Jonathan Palmer, Milind Tambe |
3pm | Collaborative writing, part 2 |
4pm | Break |
5pm |
Happy hour at Wusong Road in Harvard Square (indoor) 112 Mt Auburn St. Cambridge MA 02138 |
Participants
Andrew Davies (Harvard)
Andrew Perrault (Ohio State)
Angela Gaylard (African Parks)
Anthony Corso (Stanford)
Claire Monteleoni (CU Boulder)
Dave Thau (WWF)
Elizabeth Bondi-Kelly (MIT / Michigan)
Hannah Kerner (Arizona State)
Joe Bennett (Carleton)
Jonathan Palmer (WCS)
Justin Brashares (Berkeley)
Konstantin Klemmer (Microsoft Research)
Lester Mackey (Microsoft Research)
Melissa (Millie) Chapman (Berkeley)
Nikhil Garg (Cornell Tech)
Paul Moorcroft (Harvard)
Robert Heilmayr (UCSB Bren)
Sara Beery (Google / MIT)
Tanya Berger-Wolf (Ohio State)
Tanya Birch (Google Geo)
Vipin Kumar (Minnesota)
Organizers
Lily Xu |
Esther Rolf |
Milind Tambe |
Please don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions, ideas, or concerns!
Workshop logistics
Dates: October 20–21, 2022
Location: Harvard SEC, Room 4.307 + 4.308
Science and Engineering Complex
150 Western Ave, Boston, MA 02134
The SEC is located on Harvard's Allston campus, next to Harvard Business School.
Parking is available at the SEC, but please let us know if you will need a spot.
Hotel booking
We have secured discounted hotel rates for workshop attendees at the Hyatt Regency Boston / Cambridge. These will be the most affordable rates by far. Please see our registration email for details on how to book.
COVID policy
Vaccinations: Harvard University currently has a vaccination requirement for all University community members. All visitors to campus should expect to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and booster or proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR or rapid antigen test taken within one calendar day of the event(s) on campus. More details on Harvard COVID policies.
Masking: All persons are encouraged wear a mask of any type for their own protection, or to protect someone else, if they choose to do so. We will offer university-provided surgical masks for all attendees.
Outdoor dining: We have an outdoor terrace reserved for the entire day, including breakfast, lunch, and coffee breaks. Happy hour will be outdoors; dinner will be indoors due to challenges of finding a sufficiently large outdoor venue.
anthonycorso_pomdps.pdf | 1.32 MB | |
lilyxu-wildlife_conservation.pdf | 2.92 MB | |
andrewdavies_animal-ecosystem.pdf | 35.84 MB | |
elizabethbondi_human_ai.pdf | 2.34 MB | |
joebennett_decision-support.pdf | 1.59 MB | |
sarabeery-generalizable_cv.pdf | 4.54 MB | |
estherrolf-mosaiks.pdf | 26.6 MB | |
tanyabirch-dynamic_world_wildlife_insights.pdf | 31.23 MB | |
nikhilgarg-service_allocation.pdf | 3.84 MB | |
robertheilmayr-impact_evaluation.pdf | 7.99 MB | |
hannahkerner-digital_planet.pdf | 3.49 MB | |
justinbrashares-protected_areas.pdf | 11.41 MB | |
lestermackey-subseasonal_forecasting.pdf | 9.49 MB | |
angelagaylard-africanparks.pdf | 10.1 MB | |
milliechapman-spatial_planning.pdf | 10.75 MB | |
andrewperrault-sequential.pdf | 9.01 MB | |
clairemonteleoni-climate.pdf | 30.67 MB | |
konstantinklemmer-rsa.pdf | 1.7 MB | |
tanyabergerwolf-community_engaged.pdf | 76.52 MB | |
jonathanpalmer-conservation_tech.pdf | 12.09 MB | |
crcs_ai_for_conservation.pdf | 3.43 MB | |
davethau_wwf.pdf | 7.12 MB |