How can we use AI and Machine Learning to support Arctic fishing, shipping, and kelp mariculture—all of which are increasingly impacted by the climate crisis? 

Leslie Canavera, a Yup’ik Alaska Native and the CEO of PolArctic, is here to tell us on the latest episode of The Conch podcast! 

The PolArctic team developed the “first AI model of its kind to treat Indigenous Knowledge and Western science as equals, training with and validating both knowledge systems.”

If you’re curious to hear how merging these two knowledge bases has helped strengthen the seafood industry in the face of climate change, you won’t want to miss Season 5, Episode 8. 

You’ll learn more about their impactful work and Leslie’s journey from getting her Master’s in Business Administration to serving in the Air Force to launching PolArctic! 

Episode Transcript

Episode Guide

• :00 Intro

• 01:20 Introducing Leslie Canavera, founder of PolArctic, a company focusing on the Arctic and the ocean, creating custom, cutting-edge artificial intelligence models for forecasting future environmental change

• 04:19 Artificial Intelligence (AI) is challenging established paradigms in the Arctic environment. Leslie tells us how

• 05:59 The Arctic is experiencing incredible challenges due to climate change

• 10:12  Ice patterns in the Arctic are changing due to climate change. Leslie walks us through the impacts on fisheries and communities

• 13:40 PolArctic recently successfully developed the first AI model to integrate Indigenous knowledge, scientific data, and remote sensing techniques to assess potential inshore fishery locations for an Arctic community

• 16:15  The Arctic is a data desert

• 19:00 Parachute science: when we're collecting data sets and asking people for their knowledge, it’s important to use CARE and FAIR principles

• 20:54 Leslie’s career journey from growing up in Anchorage, to becoming an AirForce officer, to launching a tech startup

• 26:25 Leslie’s advice to eliminate inequality in the tech sector

• 30:45 Reshma Saujani said, "We're raising our girls to be perfect, and we're raising our boys to be brave." The challenges of VC funding and the importance of networking and sponsors

• 39:05 Leslie uplifts Jennifer Brown from Foraged and Found!

Resources:

1. 1. Check out PolArctic’s website to learn more about solutions to business and policy questions about the Arctic through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques.

   2. Interested in understanding why women-founded companies generate outsized social and financial returns? Read this article.

   3. Recommend this episode to one person who is curious about the importance of Indigenous knowledge in developing solutions to the greatest challenges facing our planet.