[Not an endorsement – this is an example of how AI is applied to a specific environmental disaster] “The increasing loss of bee colonies around the world poses a threat to approximately 75% of pollination-dependent crops that humans consume, as well as to the pollinators themselves. At Beewise, our business model is intrinsically linked to our mission: for every dollar we make, we save at least two bees…About six years ago, I was working as a commercial beekeeper, and one day I was tending the hives. I would pull out a few of the frames of bees in order to assess the hive’s health: “Do they need feeding?”, “How is the Queen doing?”, and “Do I need to treat for pests?” Then I would take immediate action. Suddenly, I had a realization: “A computer can do my job better than me! “What if I could put a camera in every hive? I would be able to inspect them remotely without having to go out into the field!” As excited as I was about this new idea, I started to have a suspicion that although it was cool, it wasn’t addressing my real problems as a commercial beekeeper. That led me to speak with other commercial beekeepers. I knew sensors for remote inspection of hives were widely available at the time, so I asked about that technology. Across the board, I was told that they weren’t using it. I asked them, “Why not?” to which they replied, “What for?” They didn’t find the solution helpful because the real pain for commercial beekeepers is getting out to bee yards that are spread out over huge distances. Even if the technology worked, they would still have to go out to fix all of the problems that the sensors identified. And in that case, the advantage of remote inspection only had marginal value…”