An earlier version of this case stated that the technology used in the Storelva is the same face recognition technology that Huawei has been involved in developing. This is not correct – the KI technology used in this context has been newly developed together with a Norwegian company. news apologizes for the error. – We set up a system that prevents the humpback salmon from going up into the river. This means that it does not get spawned, says Per Øivind Skard. He is the originator of the concept that Huawei and Norwegian partners are behind. Together with Berlevåg Jeger og Fisk and the actors behind the system, he is in the process of setting out a fish trap at the mouth of Storelva in Berlevåg. The trap is equipped with a “funnel” that leads all the fish into a tunnel. Here the fish are first photographed. The images are then sent to a computer with artificial intelligence, which has learned to see the difference between the species. If the computer detects a humpback salmon, the trap will open. All other fish are allowed to go up the river. The emptying of the trap is done by humans. It is Huawei Norway that, together with Norwegian SIMULA, among others, is testing this technology. Similar technology Huawei has been involved in developing, which is about recognition, has created a lot of discussion. This is because it becomes possible to conduct mass surveillance without our knowledge. Getting ready for humpback salmon invasion in 2023 From 2015 to 2021, there has been a sharp increase in humpback salmon in Finnmark. In the autumn of 2021, there were around 100,000 fish spawning in the Finnmark rivers. In the summer of 2023, it is expected that one million of the unwanted fish will enter the rivers in Finnmark. This is twice as much as all wild salmon that come in from the sea to Norway. Berlevåg Jeger og Fisk is therefore getting ready to receive a huge humpback salmon invasion with completely new technology. Humpback salmon ravaged many rivers and streams in the summer of 2021. The fish is numerous and rots and dies after spawning – in the worst case, it can exterminate the local Atlantic salmon. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn / news Per Øivind Skard explains that last summer large quantities of photographs were taken of all the fish that came into the river. It is this imagery that now lays the foundation for the technology used. – Using many hundreds of images, the system will recognize the different fish species. The more images of each species that we load into the machine, the more secure this system will be. Skard says that this summer will be used to test whether the system works. – The goal now is to test the construction, and see that it works properly. We believe that the system will be up to one hundred percent secure. – Then we hope that there will be some humpback salmon, so we get tested if it is filtered out as we want. Per Øyvind Skard is the idea maker in the project in Berlevåg. He is also an avid salmon fisherman. Photo: Trond Odin Myhre Johansen / news Will avoid great volunteer work In the summer of 2021, volunteers spent their holidays and leisure time stopping the destructive invasion of humpback salmon in Norwegian rivers. Leader of Berlevåg Jeger og Fisk, Geir Kristiansen, hopes this system will save them enormous work. – I can sit at home and get a message on the phone that there are 17 humpback salmon in the lock. – Then we have a system that is less labor-intensive, and we have control over what comes up in the watercourse, says Kristiansen. Misuse technology This is not the first time Huawei has been involved in developing computer technology for detection. In 2020, such interference led to a major scandal for the Chinese company. Together with other Chinese companies, Huawei had developed a face recognition system that could be connected to the surveillance cameras in China. The system was programmed to recognize certain ethnic groups, and could then send an alarm to the authorities. One of these groups was the Uighurs, the largest Muslim ethnic group in China, who are being persecuted and oppressed by the Chinese authorities. This revelation has led to the company becoming the symbol of the conflict between China and the West. Karsten Friis at the Norwegian Institute of Foreign Policy says there are fears that Huawei’s technology could be used by the Chinese authorities. Photo: Øyvind Bye Skille / news – The problem is, in short, that they are Chinese. It is not Huawei that is the problem, it is China, explains Researcher Karsten Friis at the Norwegian Institute of Foreign Policy (NUPI). – It is feared that China, which is an authoritarian country, may abuse Huawei in a way that could harm western countries. Hope the technology can be used in more rivers Huawei’s director for the Nordics and Baltics, Kenneth Fredriksen, has had to realize that the company’s link to China has become a major challenge. – We must get away from the fact that we are synonymous with China. We are a private company that has worked for technological innovation since we started. In Berlevåg hunter and Fish, they are getting ready to test new technology to stop humpback salmon. Photo: Trond Odin Myhre Johansen / news Vegard Kjenner, in Huawei Norway, points out that the software here has been developed in Norway, and does not want to comment on anything beyond that. He hopes that the Norwegian technology, with image recognition and lock system, can help stop the humpback salmon in several rivers in Norway. – We believe that during this season we have a solution that works very well. Berlevåg is the pilot project, so we hope this technology can be used in the rest of our students as well.
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Uses artificial intelligence to stop humpback salmon – news Troms and Finnmark
