Thanks for highlighting the changes in phrasing that have been used. It seems worrying that “through technology” has been added. Let’s hope it’s an unfortunate choice of words indeed and not a shift in priorities. From the same About page, iNat is described as:
iNaturalist is an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature
If iNat’s goal is for people to help each other learn about nature, then I think teaching others about identifying species is best done through something like this: Create an “identification center” with guides, curated subcategories, events, and more. This enhances the community itself, it makes people learn directly from each other, and it seems well-aligned with iNat’s mission.
If iNat’s goal has indeed been changed to achieve this “through technology”, then I think using the latest, shiniest technology is in alignment with the objectives. However, I think that clarifying whether or not there is an intentional strategic change that gives technology a more prominent role is warranted.