My request is to have the iNat algorithm generate an ID for observations marked “unknown” after a certain amount of time passes (could be a year, six months, or three months). This could be marked somehow as “iNat-generated ID” and would only to observations for which the iNat algorithm is “pretty s…

I approved this because we are really backlogged on mod approvals since all of us aren’t really around right now. However, I think there is another topic where this idea is discussed. I just haven’t had time to find it. When we do we can merge it in. I think this is an interesting idea and it has b…

[image] charlie: However, I think there is another topic where this idea is discussed. Perhaps: https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/automatic-computer-vision-ids/2074

and that in turn links to https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/species-suggestions-for-the-wrong-continent/789

Thanks, I commented on that General discussion directing them here, so interested parties can vote on this feature request if they so choose! :)

I wouldn’t be against this as long as it provided only very coarse IDs to get obs out of unknown. Is it a plant? Insect? Bird? Fungus? Great! More specificity would probably just cause problems though.

Rough categories would help. Also someone has industriously been thru all the bougainvilleas from Cape Town’s City Challenge with a kind copypasta - you cannot ID to species with this photo. So the wrong species ID was useful to him. But iNat is pretty sure our arums are Arum, and it can take 5 vo…

I think IDing down further would be more beneficial to getting things IDed to the best level. Wading through observations set to plant by a program, just to require grunt work of categorizing them further into Mosses, Liverworts, and Vascular Plants wouldn’t save much time, nor get very many more …

To go from unknown to something (as in plantae, fungi, etc) would still only be one ID, so it won’t be RG and would appear in needs id pool… And because of the age of the obs, it would likely be quite far back, so only “power IDers” are going to see it. I say go as specific as the CV/AI allows!

I’m more generalist than some I guess, but I do filter by “plants” all the time (and by a location). Sometimes I will specify vascular plants but usually I just mark the mosses I don’t know as reviewed and maybe that helps me slowly get a feel for what is around. I rarely include “something”s and al…

Talking with our devs, something like this is technically possible, maybe running slow in the background and for much older observations. Whether or not it’s worth it, or would be a good idea is up for debate. A few issues I would have with it: Philosophically, would I want my observation to auto…

Automatic iNat suggestion for "unknown" observations that reach a certain age

Feature Requests

danaleeling June 17, 2019, 1:17pm 3

Perhaps:
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/automatic-computer-vision-ids/2074

Topic		Replies	Views
Does anyone else get bothered by how many observations are marked as "unknown species"? General question	231	9390	December 27, 2022
Difficulties with Identifying General	21	1107	July 1, 2024
Can't find unidentified observations before 2020 General	33	697	May 9, 2024
Get ID to old observations General	31	1159	June 18, 2026
Thoughts on unknown ID level? General	59	1363	October 9, 2025

Automatic iNat suggestion for "unknown" observations that reach a certain age

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