Outdoors column: Nature apps can be helpful, but don’t expect your smartphone to always get it right

To identify plants in the wild, I’ve been using Seek by iNaturalist for several years. And, because I know plants fairly well, I can tell when this app doesn’t get it right. For example, we planted a bur oak in our front yard, and Seek identified it as a different type of oak. I knew better. But Seek almost had me fooled when it identified a fern in my front yard growing beneath some Norway spruces as the New York fern, an Illinois endangered species.

Advanced birders might immediately recognize the mistakes, but unfortunately beginning birders don’t, and some have inaccurately been reporting birds based on what their app says. One Merlin user and birder from southern Illinois said, “We know Merlin isn’t perfect, and the software tells you to confirm with a visual sighting, but the last couple days Merlin says there are pheasant cuckoos, rufous-breasted spinetails and pavonine cuckoos in the woods. I had to look them up.

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Microsoft Should Acquire OpenAI, HCL, BCG & Other Technology, Service & Strategic PartnersI am the Thomas G. Labrecque Professor of Business Technology in the Villanova School of Business at Villanova University where I teach strategic technology, AI & emerging technology. I conduct research on technology management best practices, social media, analytics, cloud computing and technology adoption. I am the author/co-author/editor of 36 books on information technology, technology trends and business technology management. My most recent books - The Digital Playbook: How to Win the Stra
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