Wildfires & Artificial Intelligence | Newsmaker

TOMORROW NEWSMAKER SATURDAY WITH JOHN HOOK IS NEXT. HAVE A GOOD SATURDAY NIGHT. SEAN NEWSMAKER. SATURDAY STARTS NOW. INS FOR HUMANITY WITH THE RISE LATER IN THE PROGRAM, BUT WE BEGIN WITH THE MORE IMMEDIATE CONCERN THE FIRE SEASON IN ARIZONA, AND SO FAR IT'S BEEN PRETTY QUIET THIS YEAR WITH AN FOLLOWED A VERY GOOD WHAT MONSOON? BUT WE'RE ABOUT TO ENTER A CRITICAL PERIOD NEXT WEEK WAS

SOARING TEMPERATURES 1 10 PLUS IN THE PHOENIX AREA. FIRE MITIGATION SPECIALIST WITH THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT WEIGHED REEVES JOINS ME NOW. GOOD TO SEE YOU. WAIT. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US REALLY GOOD, WET WINTER, AND THE OLD AXIOM USED TO BE THAT IF YOU'VE GOT A WET, YOU KNOW, SNOWY WINTER GREAT TO SUPPRESS FIRE IN THE HIGHLANDS IN THE HIGH COUNTRY, PONDEROSA PINE STANDS AND

ALL OF THAT. BUT WITH ALL THE GROWTH OF STUFF IN THE DESERT, YOU'D GET URBAN FIRES. WE HAVEN'T EVEN REALLY GOTTEN THAT YET. YEAH YEAH, THANKS FOR HAVING ME, BUT WE'VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO THIS POINT THIS YEAR. LIKE YOU SAID. WE HAD A VERY WET WINTER. UM, THAT SET UP KIND OF CONTINUED THROUGH SPRING. WE WERE COOL AND DAMP THROUGH MOST OF THE SPRING, AND I

THINK THAT HAS KIND OF LED TO A DELAY IN FIRE ACTIVITY THIS YEAR, BUT CERTAINLY WITH THE MOISTURE WE RECEIVED THIS WINTER . UM THE FUELS ARE OUT THERE IN THE DESERTS AND THEY'RE CURED AND READY TO BURN. AT THIS POINT, I WOULD AGREE WITH YOU. I THINK WE'RE VERY CLOSE TO A TURNING POINT AND WE'VE ALREADY SEEN INCREASED ACTIVITY THE LAST WEEK OR TWO AROUND

THE STATE, AND I THINK THAT'S JUST GOING TO CONTINUE IN THE COMING WEEKS HERE WOULD BE LM SO BLM IS I UNDERSTAND IT. YOU GUYS MANAGE ABOUT 12 MILLION ACRES AROUND THE AROUND THE STATE OF PUBLIC LANDS. THAT'S CORRECT. JUST OVER 12 MILLION. WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE STATE IS THAT? I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO CALCULATE THAT. IN OTHER WORDS, HOW MUCH DOES BLM HANDLE VERSUS

FOREST SERVICE? YEAH AND YOU KNOW, I DON'T I COULDN'T TELL YOU EXACTLY MYSELF, BUT IT IS A LARGE A LARGE PORTION OF ARIZONA. UM WE COVER A LOT OF THE PUBLIC LANDS THAT YOU SEE IN THE LOWER AREAS. OBVIOUSLY THE FOREST SERVICE COVERS A LOT OF THE HIGHER ELEVATION, FORESTED LANDS, AND WE COVER A LOT OF THE DESERT PROBABLY MORE WORRIED IN YOUR FIELD OF EXPERTISE.

YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT THESE KIND OF URBAN INTERFACE FIRES RIGHT TALKING ABOUT LIKE CAVE CREEK OR ABSOLUTELY HAD THEIR FIRES, RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY OUR URBAN INTERFACE AREAS ARE ALWAYS A PRIORITY. UH THEY'RE ALWAYS ALWAYS A CONCERN WITH FIRE ACTIVITY, ESPECIALLY ON A YEAR LIKE THIS WHERE WE DO HAVE, UH, GRASS FUEL LOADING IN THOSE AREAS. HAVE WE GOTTEN THE MESSAGE OUT? EFFECTIVELY ENOUGH FOR PEOPLE TO BUILD AND

MANAGE DEFENSIBLE SPACE AROUND THEIR PROPERTIES. OR THEIR BUSINESSES. YEAH YOU KNOW, IT'S AN ONGOING EFFORT. UM, AND IT'S A CHALLENGE WITH MY POSITION SPECIFICALLY. TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO REACH MORE PEOPLE. UM THIS IS OBVIOUSLY HELPFUL, BUT WE DO HAVE, UM YOU KNOW WHAT A RAPID INCREASE IN POPULATION IN ARIZONA OUR POPULATION IS AND THAT MEANS WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE MOVING INTO ARIZONA THAT

AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH THE STATE. THEY MAYBE. DON'T UNDERSTAND, UM , THE ROLE THAT WILDFIRES PLAY HERE, AND, UM IT'S OUR CHALLENGE TO FIND AVENUES TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT TO EVERYBODY SO THEY CAN BE PREPARED. WHERE IS BLM ON FIRE MANAGEMENT IN TERMS OF KIND OF THE OVERARCHING PHILOSOPHY, HAVE WE HAVE WE GOTTEN TOO AGGRESSIVE? IN CERTAIN AREAS WITH FIRE SUPPRESSION, NOT LETTING FIRE DO IT'S

NORMAL THING. OR IS IT COMPLICATED? BECAUSE NOW SO MANY PEOPLE ARE MOVING? RIGHT ON THE RIGHT ON THE EDGE OR IN FORESTS OR IN OR IN BURN AREAS. YEAH, IT'S CERTAINLY COMPLICATED. UM I THINK HISTORICALLY, THAT WAS AN ISSUE FOR A LOT OF YEARS GOING BACK, YOU KNOW, DECADES UM IT WAS BASICALLY A FULL SUPPRESSION STRATEGY. ANYTIME YOU GOT A WILDFIRE, YOU STOMPED IT AS QUICKLY

AS YOU COULD AND GOT IT OVER WITH AND OVER THE LAST, YOU KNOW, 30 TO 30 YEARS FOR SURE. UM, I THINK WE'VE CHANGED OUR STANCE A LITTLE BIT. ALL THE AGENCIES HAVE RECOGNIZING THAT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY. UM AND THAT'S WHERE YOU'VE SEEN A LOT MORE FUELS MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES TRYING TO REDUCE HAZARD FUEL ACCUMULATIONS, AND SOME OF THOSE ACCUMULATIONS WERE

DUE TO A LACK OF WILDFIRE FOR A LONG TIME, SO WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO WORK ON REDUCING THOSE ACCUMULATIONS OF HAZARD FUELS. UM AND EVERY ECOSYSTEM IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. THE DESERT YOU HAVE TO TREAT DIFFERENTLY THAN YOU DO. AH UM SOME OF THE FORESTED AREAS. MOST OF OUR DESSERTS ARE NOT FIRE ADAPTED, SO FIRES VERY DESTRUCTIVE ON THOSE ECOSYSTEMS OPTIONS ON HOW WE ADDRESS

DEAL LOADING ISSUES IN THOSE AREAS. YOU REALLY ARE KIND OF LIMITED ON DOING CONTROLLED BURNS. ANYWAY WHEN YOU'RE WHEN YOU'RE RIGHT UP AGAINST A FOOTHILLS AREA LIKE A CAVE CREEK OR I MENTIONED FOUNTAIN HILLS. THERE'S SO MANY PLACES NORTH HOW YOU MANAGE THAT. YEAH IT'S CERTAINLY A CHALLENGE. UM OBVIOUSLY, THERE'S MORE OPTIONS IN OUR FORESTED AREAS WHERE THAT IS A FIRE ADAPTED ECOSYSTEM AND WE HAVE

MORE OPTIONS. YOU MOVE INTO THE DESERT AREAS DOING ANY BURNING IN THOSE AREAS IS FAIRLY DESTRUCTIVE TO THOSE NATIVE SPECIES THAT ARE ON THE GROUND, SO WE HAVE TO TAKE MORE OF A MECHANICAL APPROACH. UM AND WE DO FEEL BREAKS A LOT AROUND A LOT OF THOSE COMMUNITIES. UM BUT FIRE IS TYPICALLY EXCLUDED UNLESS WE'RE JUST DOING SOME PILE BURNING OF SOME BRUSH AND THINGS LIKE

THAT THAT HAVE BEEN CUT AROUND THOSE COMMUNITIES. WAIT IS THERE A FIRE SEASON ANYMORE IN ARIZONA? OR IS THIS A YEAR ROUND THING? YEAH YOU KNOW , THERE'S SOME NEW TERMINAL TOOK NEW TERMINOLOGY BEING FLOATED AROUND. WE'VE ALWAYS CALLED IT A FIRE SEASON. IN RECENT YEARS. PEOPLE ARE SAYING, WHY DON'T WE JUST CALL IT A FIRE YEAR? BECAUSE UM, WE DEFINITELY GET WILDFIRE ACTIVITY EVERY MONTH

SPIKES WE'RE GOING TO SEE NEXT WEEK. ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT WHAT NEXT WEEK MIGHT BRING? UM I WOULDN'T SAY WORRIED. I THINK WE'RE AS PREPARED AS WE CAN BE, UM YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE FIREFIGHTERS AROUND THE STATE. THIS IS WHAT THEY PREPARE FOR, UM YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. THOUGH WE'RE MOVING INTO PEAK FIRE SEASON RIGHT NOW ARE FIRE DANGER GENERALLY PEAKS LATE JUNE

EARLY JULY BEFORE THE ONSET OF MONSOON MOISTURE THIS YEAR, IT LOOKS LIKE THAT MOISTURE MAYBE A LITTLE BIT DELAYED GETTING THE ARIZONA SO WE'RE FULLY EXPECTING THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS TO BE BUSY. UM AND THEN, OBVIOUSLY THAT FIRST WEEK OR TWO WHEN THE MONSOON ACTIVITY PICKS UP, WE TYPICALLY TYPICALLY GET SOME DRY THUNDERSTORMS. UM AND THAT'S ALWAYS A CONCERN AS WELL. BUT I THINK WE'RE PREPARED

AND READY TO SEE WHAT COMES THAT'S KIND OF THE CRITICAL PERIOD BECAUSE YOU WAIT FOR THE MONSOON, BUT IN THE EARLY PHASES OF THE MONSOON, YOU GET LIGHTNING AND THE LIGHTNING STRIKES CAN CAUSE FIRES. AND THIS YEAR'S YOU NICE SEGUE BY THE WAY, THIS YEAR'S MONSOON FORECASTED TO BE DRIER THAN NORMAL. WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. YEAH. YES SO I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT STRING OF

LUCK WE'VE HAD SO FAR THIS YEAR WITH WET AND COOL CONDITIONS MAY BE COMING TO AN END OF THE FORECASTS ARE CORRECT. UM I'M HOPING WE GET SURPRISED AND GET SOME GOOD RAINS LIKE WE'VE SEEN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONSOON SEASONS, BUT WE'RE FULLY PREPARED FOR A PRETTY EXTENT EXTENDED DRY AND HOT PERIOD THROUGH THIS SUMMER DID THE COOLING OR THE COOLER TEMPERATURES THAT WE'VE HAD

THIS HELP ON ON RETAINING MOISTURE. UM IN THE GROUND THAT THAT AND IN THE VEGETATION THAT KEEPS IT FROM SPARKING ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY, UM ARE LOWER DESERT AREAS TYPICALLY DRY OUT FOR STAFF AFTER THE WINTER. UM BUT EVEN YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR WE SAW, I WOULD SAY A ALMOST A THREE OR FOUR WEEK DELAY IN THE CURING OF OUR OF OUR VEGETATION, SO SOME OF THOSE AREAS

THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY CURED OUT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, READY FOR WILDFIRE ACTIVITY. UM BY THE END OF APRIL, IT WAS CLOSE TO THE END OF MAY BEFORE THEY WERE CURED OUT TO THAT POINT THIS YEAR, AND AS YOU MOVE UP IN ELEVATION TO OUR FORESTED AREAS, THEY'RE STILL KIND OF ENJOYING THAT THAT LENGTHY WHAT PERIOD THAT WE HAVE THIS SPRING. SO FIRE DANGEROUS. DEFINITELY

BEEN A LITTLE SLOWER TO COME UP THIS YEAR. ANOTHER POINT ON SUPPRESSION I'VE BEEN NOTICING IN THE PAST FEW YEARS. I'M SEEING THE AERIAL TANKERS GET OUT AND JUMP ON THESE FIRES . WE SAW IT ALONG. I 17 A FEW WEEKS AGO, SOMETHING BROKE OUT THERE PROBABLY MAN CAUSED AND THEY JUMPED IT. EARLY WITH A TANKER. SO IT SEEMED THAT THAT FICTION IS COMING AT US

LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN. IN FACT, TO A LARGE DEGREE, IT'S ALREADY HERE. ARE WE READY FOR IT? IS IT GOOD FOR SOCIETY? OR IS IT AN EVIL THAT THREATENS TO DESTROY US? IT'S HEADY STUFF. JEFF HUGHES IS AN EXPERT IN A I EXPERT, A TEACHER AND AN AUTHOR OF HOW TO RAISE SMART KIDS WITH A I. HE'S ALSO A FOUNDER AND CEO OF HIS SKILL SAMURAI,

WHICH IS A CODING IN STEM ACADEMY THAT PREPARES KIDS AND TEENS FOR CAREERS IN STEM, INCLUDING A I ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, JEFF, THANKS FOR BEING WITH US. MY PLEASURE. THANKS FOR HAVING ME TO START WITH A QUOTE FROM STEPHEN HAWKING, THE NOTED PHYSICIST. UM HE SAYS EFFORTS TO CREATE THINKING MACHINES POSE A THREAT TO OUR VERY EXISTENCE. IT COULD BE THE WORST EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF

OUR CIVILIZATION, HE TOLD THE BBC DEVELOPMENT OF FULL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COULD SPELL THE END OF THE HUMAN RACE. THOUGHTS HOW !NEVER. THAT'S THAT'S HOPEFULLY THE WORST CASE SCENARIO. UM AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS, I THINK WE WANT TO AVOID LOOKING AT THESE FUTURE SCI FI APOCALYPTIC SCENARIOS AND MAYBE , UM, PLACE YOURSELVES IN LOOKING AT WHAT ARE SOME OF THE REAL CURRENT DANGERS. I THINK

THERE'S ENOUGH OF THOSE IN THE SHORT TERM FOR US TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT. AND THERE ARE ALSO A LOT OF POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND LIFE CHANGING OPPORTUNITIES THAT WILL COME ABOUT BECAUSE OF A I JEFF, WE, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY STARTED NOTICING THIS JUST THE LAYPERSON AND I WOULD INCLUDE MYSELF IN THIS WHEN WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT CHAT, GPT DOING KIDS TERM PAPERS, BUT A I HAS

BEEN AROUND SINCE THE 19 FIFTIES. EVERYBODY HAS BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF SUPERCOMPUTER IS THE RIGHT WORD FOR IT, BUT A ALMOST THINKING MACHINE. YEAH AND IT HAS IT GOES ALL THE WAY BACK EVEN FURTHER THAN THAT. WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UM SCIENCE FICTION LITERATURE FROM THE EARLY 19 HUNDREDS BOOKS LIKE THE WIZARD OF OZ HAVING THESE THINKING

MACHINES AND THEN ALL THE ROBOTS THAT WE'VE SEEN THROUGH THE FIFTIES AND SIXTIES. BUT, YEAH, IN THE LAST NOTE, SIX MONTHS, SEVEN MONTHS WITH THE RISE OF CHAT, GPT, IT'S REALLY COME TO THE FOREFRONT. AND WHAT CHAT GPT HAS DONE IS MADE IT ACCESSIBLE FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME. TO BE ABLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO A WHOLE WORLD OF INFORMATION JUST BY ASKING THE RIGHT

QUESTIONS. SINCE YOU'RE A TEACHER, I'M SURE YOU'VE GOT AN OPINION ON THIS. WHAT ABOUT KIDS USING THIS TO WRITE A TERM PAPER? CAN YOU DISCERN IF SOMETHING IS CHAT, GPT VERSUS THE STUDENTS BRAIN. YEAH I HAVE HAD HEATED DISCUSSIONS WITH MY TEACHER FRIENDS ABOUT THIS AND WHAT HAPPENED, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY BACK IN MY DAY IF I CHEATED AND COPIED SOMETHING OUT OF AN ENCYCLOPEDIA THE TEACHER

WOULD KNOW IN THE SAME WAY. NOW IF YOU HAVE A STUDENT WHO WAS GETTING C'S AND B'S SUDDENLY ABLE TO SUMMARIZE MACBETH AND ONE PARAGRAPH SOMETHING IS GOING TO BE UP. SO TEACHERS ARE ABLE TO CATCH IT RIGHT NOW. YEAH BUT I THINK THE SMART STUDENTS WILL EVEN BE ABLE TO GET PAST SOME OF THAT SOFTWARE THAT CAN CATCH IT. SO WHAT DO YOU TELLING THE

KIDS NOW ABOUT THEIR FUTURE IN THE WORLD, AND THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORK. WHEN IT SEEMS THAT EVERY DISCIPLINE COULD BE A SAILED. BYE BYE, AI. YEAH I THINK FIRST AND FOREMOST FOR ALL OF US. IT'S ABOUT EDUCATION, SO LEARNING ABOUT THE CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF AI AND EVEN HAVING OUR KIDS BEGIN TO LEARN WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PROMPT ENGINEER. UM IN BEFORE A.

I CAME OUT. WE WERE TELLING PARENTS THAT BY 2030 85% OF JOBS THAT PEOPLE HAVE, THEN DON'T EXIST YET. SO KIDS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL RIGHT NOW ARE GOING TO SCHOOL FOR JOBS, AND THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY ARE. SO THE BEST THING STUDENTS CAN DO IS LEARN ABOUT IT, UNDERSTAND IT SO THAT THEY WILL BE READY. HOPEFULLY FOR WHATEVER LISTENING TO ME ON THIS DISCUSSION

WE'RE HAVING. I SOUND LIKE A GEEZER. I'M FULLY AWARE OF IT. WHO'S A LITTLE BIT GIVE ME THE POSITIVE CASE. FOR THIS TECHNOLOGY FOR A I SURE, YOU KNOW, AND YOU'RE NOT A GEEZER. MY DAUGHTERS ARE 15 AND 17. AND THEY HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT A I THEY WANT TO BE TEACHERS. UM AND WHEN I TALK ABOUT IT, THEY ARE JUST DISGUSTED WITH THE WHOLE IDEA.