Google has asked the U.S. government for permission to release up to 32 million sterilized mosquitoes in California and Florida, The Guardian reports.
According to the newspaper, the project is aimed at reducing populations of mosquitoes that carry dangerous diseases, including dengue, Zika virus, West Nile virus, chikungunya and malaria.
The program is based on the sterile-insect technique. Male mosquitoes infected with the naturally occurring bacterium Wolbachia do not bite humans, but after mating with wild females they render the offspring nonviable: the eggs do not hatch, and the population gradually declines.
To do this, Google uses data analysis, sensors and AI-based computer vision. These technologies make it possible to automatically breed, sort and release only males—in the right places and in specified numbers.