The Next Big One? Earthquake Scientists Look to A.I.

Countless dollars and entire scientific careers have been dedicated to predicting where and when the next big earthquake will strike. But unlike weather forecasting, which has significantly improved with the use of better satellites and more powerful mathematical models, earthquake prediction has been marred by repeated failure. Some of the world's most destructive earthquakes -- China in 2008, Haiti in 2010 and Japan in 2011, among them -- occurred in areas that seismic hazard maps had deemed relatively safe. The last large earthquake to strike Los Angeles, Northridge in 1994, occurred on a fault that did not appear on seismic maps. Now, with the help of artificial intelligence, a growing number of scientists say changes in the way they can analyze massive amounts of seismic data can help them better understand earthquakes, anticipate how they will behave, and provide quicker and more accurate early warnings. "I am actually hopeful for the first time in my career that we will make progress on this problem," said Paul Johnson, a fellow at the Los Alamos National Laboratory who is among those at the forefront of this research.