Preeti Cowan is a recipient of the Rutherford Foundation Fellowship as well as a Research Fellow at the University of Auckland. Photo: Preeti Cowan
Amidst growing concerns about artificial intelligence and its implications for how we engage with the world, AI is also being put to use in remarkable ways.
Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, Dr Preeti Cowan is using it to identify asteroids in vast astronomical photographs that would otherwise take years to decipher. She says the amount of astronomical data we have to sift through is overwhelming but AI makes it possible.
Preeti, a Research Fellow in the Department of Physics at Auckland University, joins Mihingarangi to talk about the use of AI in astronomical fields and how this will develop our understanding of space.
A deep image of 3I/ATLAS, the third confirmed interstellar visitor to our Solar System. Visible is the envelope of gas and dust surrounding the comet’s core as it gets closer to the Sun. Photo: International Gemini Observatory
