Scientists use facial recognition to create a Facebook for whales
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Key takeaways
- Large scale commercial whaling has been devastating to the population of North Atlantic right whales, there are only about 500 left in the world.
- The Right Whale Recognition competition, organized by marine biologist Christian Khan, drew almost as many contestants as there are right whales in the wild, with 470 players taking part across 364 teams.
- Khan was reportedly inspired to set up the contest after seeing Facebook’s use of facial recognition to identify people in photos.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2016) 'Scientists use facial recognition to create a Facebook for whales', 311 Institute, 29 October. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/scientists-use-facial-recognition-to-create-a-facebook-for-whales/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Creating new algorithms that identify our friends in nature seems to be a growing trend - and it's about time too. Now researchers have developed a facial-recognition algorithm for whales that could prove crucial in saving one of the world’s most endangered species.
Large scale commercial whaling has been devastating to the population of North Atlantic right whales, there are only about 500 left in the world. So researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) decided to set up a contest to better identify the whales.
The Right Whale Recognition competition, organized by marine biologist Christian Khan, drew almost as many contestants as there are right whales in the wild, with 470 players taking part across 364 teams. Khan was reportedly inspired to set up the contest after seeing Facebook’s use of facial recognition to identify people in photos.
The winning entry uses a facial recognition algorithm to correctly identify whales 87 percent of the time by recognizing patterns on their heads and it uses artificial intelligence to localise, align, and then finally identify individual right whales from aerial photographs.
The algorithm, developed by the data science company deepsense.io, could help save whales who have become entangled in fishing nets by allowing researchers to inform disentanglement experts which whales have been caught. It would also help scientists avoid mistakenly conducting biopsies on the same whale.
Perhaps most importantly, the algorithm will save researchers countless hours spent trawling through photographs of whales, freeing up time to carry out actual research.
“It was very exciting to have our Machine Learning Team participate and win this NOAA competition because the solution helps solve a real-world problem and empowers fishery biologists in protecting the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales,” said Piotr Niedzwiedz, co-founder of deepsense.io.
“The Right Whale Recognition challenge was a great opportunity to put our data scientists’ talents to the test and to demonstrate that deep-learning techniques... can provide immense benefits in big data applications.”
What this means for your organisation
AI frees experts for real work.
Sorting photos by hand takes huge amounts of time. Automated identification lets scientists focus on research and rescue. The same applies to many monitoring tasks.
Open contests find answers.
A public competition drew hundreds of teams to solve the problem. Firms can use contests to tap outside talent. Prize challenges can be cheaper than hiring.
Nature data has value.
Tracking individual animals supports conservation and reporting. Firms with nature commitments can use similar tools. Measurement is the first step to protection.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- Which of our monitoring tasks could AI automate?
- Could an open contest solve one of our hard problems?
- How do we measure our impact on nature today?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
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About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity programme, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- The Right Whale Recognition competition kaggle.com
- deepsense.io deepsense.io
- Whale rescue coastalstudies.org
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 29 October 2016. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2016). Scientists use facial recognition to create a Facebook for whales. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/scientists-use-facial-recognition-to-create-a-facebook-for-whales/
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