2021 ESA Annual Meeting (August 2 - 6)

Roundtable: Paradigm Shifts: A Discussion on Statistical Models vs Machine Learning vs AI (Statistical Ecology Section)

12:00 PM-1:00 PM
Session Organizer:
Masami Fujiwara
Moderator:
Denis Valle, Joshua Cullen
In this roundtable, we will invite three speakers to compare and contrast statistical models, machine learning methods, and artificial intelligence (AI) approaches. Each speaker will be an expert on one of these approaches and will provide a 10 min presentation. Then, we will open the forum for discussions. Speakers will be asked to address the following questions in their presentations: • How is your approach better/different than the other approaches? • In your opinion, what are the main trends regarding the use of your approach? What are the main challenges regarding the use of your approach? • What are 3 things that you’d like your approach to be able to do that cannot be done currently? • What are the key skills that students and working professionals need to acquire to be able to use your approach? How can students and working professionals prepare themselves to be able to use your approach? Statistical Models Panelist: • Krishna Pacifici • Guillaume Blanchet Machine Learning/AI Panelist: • Dan Morris • Jake Zwart