Whale lover Ted Cheeseman has created a cool new way to identify individual whales using fancy technology called artificial intelligence (AI). His company, HappyWhale, lets people upload their whale photos to their website. The AI software then uses special technology, like what's used to recognize human faces, to figure out which whale it is based on its tail shape, color, or markings. It can even tell you the whale's name if it already has one, or you can give it a name yourself. It also shows you a map of where the whale has been seen. The website is free for everyone to use, but businesses have to pay a monthly fee.

HappyWhale uses the photos people upload to keep track of how many whales there are and where they go. This is part of a growing trend where conservation groups are using AI to help people identify animals and birds. For example, there's an app called Merlin Bird ID that lets you take a picture or record a bird's song, and the AI software will tell you what kind of bird it is. You can also add more information about the bird to help scientists learn more about them.

There's another app called iNaturalist that uses AI to figure out what kind of animal or plant you've taken a picture of. The AI has been trained with lots of pictures of different species, and it keeps learning as more pictures are added. These apps not only help people learn more about wildlife, but they also help with conservation efforts. By getting people interested in wildlife and teaching them about it, these apps are encouraging people to protect the species they love.

HappyWhale's whale tracking data was even used to convince a group of tour operators in Antarctica to slow down their ships to prevent whales from getting hurt. This shows how AI and the information people share can make a real difference in protecting animals.

Original news source: Name that whale! How AI aces animal spotting (BBC)

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a set of whale-related words or phrases written on separate pieces of paper. One person from each group will pick a word or phrase and act it out without speaking, while the rest of the group tries to guess what it is. The group that guesses correctly gets a point. Continue until all the words or phrases have been used, and then tally up the points to declare a winner.
– News Summary
Instructions: Have the students read the article individually or in pairs. Then, ask each student to write a summary of the article in their own words. Afterward, have them share their summaries with a partner or small group and discuss any differences or similarities. Finally, have a class discussion to compare the different summaries and create a class summary together.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Have each group discuss the following question: "Do you think using AI technology to identify and track whales is a positive development for conservation efforts? Why or why not?" After discussing, each group should choose a spokesperson to share their opinion with the rest of the class. As a class, create a visual representation of the opinions, such as a graph or chart, to see the overall distribution of opinions.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a list of vocabulary words from the article related to whales and AI technology. One person from each group will choose a word and draw a picture to represent it, while the rest of the group tries to guess the word. The group that guesses correctly gets a point. Continue until all the words have been used, and then tally up the points to declare a winner.
– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have the students read the article individually. Then, ask them to think about the following question: "How do you think AI technology can be further used to protect wildlife?" After giving them some time to think, have them pair up with a partner and share their ideas. Finally, have a class discussion to share and compare the different ideas, allowing students to expand on their thoughts and respond to each other's suggestions.

Whale lover Ted Cheeseman has created a cool new way to identify individual whales using fancy technology called artificial intelligence (AI). His company, HappyWhale, lets ? upload their whale photos to their website. The AI software then uses ? technology, like what's used to recognize human ?, to figure out which whale it is based on its tail shape, color, or ?. It can even tell you the whale's name if it already has one, or you can give it a name yourself. It also shows you a map of where the ? has been seen. The ? is free for everyone to use, but businesses have to pay a ? fee. HappyWhale uses the photos people upload to keep ? of how many whales there are and where they go. This is part of a growing trend where conservation groups are using AI to help people identify animals and birds. For example, there's an app called Merlin Bird ID that lets you take a picture or record a bird's song, and the AI software will tell you what kind of bird it is. You can also add more information about the bird to help scientists learn more about them. There's another app called iNaturalist that uses AI to ? out what kind of animal or plant you've ? a ? of. The AI has been trained with lots of pictures of different species, and it keeps learning as more pictures are ?. These apps not only help people learn more about ?, but they also help with conservation efforts. By getting people interested in wildlife and teaching them about it, these apps are encouraging people to ? the species they love. HappyWhale's whale tracking data was even used to ? a ? of tour operators in Antarctica to slow down their ships to prevent whales from getting hurt. This shows how AI and the information people share can make a real difference in protecting animals.

1. What is artificial intelligence (AI) and how is it used in HappyWhale?
2. How would you feel if you could give a whale a name? Why or why not?
3. Do you like taking pictures of animals? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it's important to track the movements of whales? Why or why not?
5. What is Merlin Bird ID and how does it use AI?
6. How do you think apps like Merlin Bird ID and iNaturalist help with conservation efforts?
7. Why do you think it's important to protect wildlife species?
8. How do you think AI and information sharing can make a difference in protecting animals?
9. Have you ever seen a whale in person? How did it make you feel?
10. Do you think businesses should have to pay a monthly fee to use HappyWhale? Why or why not?
11. What other animals or plants do you think could benefit from AI identification technology?
12. How do you think AI can help scientists learn more about different species?
13. Why do you think it's important for people to learn about wildlife?
14. How do you think apps like HappyWhale can encourage people to protect animals?
15. Have you ever participated in any conservation efforts? If so, what did you do and how did it make you feel?

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