Counting elephants from space? That’s the aim of the project. To do so, earth-observation satellites and a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) known as machine learning are being deployed. How so? Researchers are using the highest resolution satellite images currently available, which are processed and analysed automatically by a computer algorithm that has been trained with more than 1,000 images of elephants to help spot elephants in the wild. The AI involvement means the creatures can be counted even in hard-to-spot areas covered with trees or shrubs. It’s an international project? A team from the University of Oxford, in collaboration with Dr Olga Isupova of the University of Bath and Dr. Tiejun Wang, of the University of Twente, are leading the effort, saying the work is “vital” to ensure the survival of the species.