Pursuing a double major in environmental science and data science, Bridgewater College junior Calvin Hulleman used AI to complete an independent research project.
“Using Google’s Gemini to Transcribe 30 Years of Birding Data” was made possible after Chris Bolgiano of Harrisonburg reached out to Hulleman’s advisor, Dr. Robyn Puffenbarger, professor of biology.
Bolgiano hoped to get a student to digitize data from 300 index cards “of her observing birds” in the last 30 years.
“So, the opportunity to work with a lot of environmental science data sounded interesting and to contribute to broader science,” Hulleman said.
Hulleman said the cards were organized by bird species and included information about the sight and sound of each bird, how many birds Bogliano saw and where on her property she saw them.
He visited Bolgiano’s property and established two goals for his project. First he would transcribe the handwritten data from the index cards “and turn it into something meaningful and useful” by uploading it to an online database. His second goal was to develop a protocol so that others could replicate what he did and transcribe historical field notes.
Using Gemini, which is similar to ChatGPT, Hulleman digitally transcribed the data on the cards. The AI tool made transcribing less tedious.
“So this data becomes more accessible,” Hulleman said.
However, he did have to double check what the AI tool collected from the cards and make corrections.
Hulleman uploaded all of the corrected data to the citizen science project, eBird. In 2022, the database reached 1 billion amateur observations. Some organizations use the database to help conservation efforts around the world.
“A giant data base of bird data,” Hulleman said.
Hulleman is satisfied with the results of his project and that he reached both goals. He is waiting to hear about whether his project will appear in the journal Virginia Society of Ornithology. He submitted his project paper to the journal in November 2024.
“They seem like they love it and they’re very excited about it.”
Hulleman said he is unsure of his career path after he graduates Bridgewater College in 2026. He is thinking about forestry and would like to focus on conservation and environmental health.
He does not use AI with environmental health, but is able to use it with data science. Before his project, Hulleman had used ChatGPT to generate ideas and aid with school work. Gemini serves as a large language model which gives prompts to perform tasks.
“It was actually able to somewhat accurately read the cards,” Hulleman said of Gemini. The tool made the process 150 percent faster for Hulleman to transcribe 3,300 individual observations in three to four days.
When used correctly, he said that AI is a great tool, but its limitations must be understood.
“I’ve been kind of learning how to build my own AI tool. I think they are going to be the way forward.”
He has no hesitations about using AI to fulfill tasks and projects.
“I think, at the end of the day, AI is only as good as the data we give it. And we’ll never have perfect data.”
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Rebecca Barnabi
