Lucknow: The Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) has established an advanced Artificial Intelligence lab that will bring high-performance computing, AI and modern data-analysis tools into palaeosciences research.The lab has been set up with support from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and will be inaugurated on the institute’s Foundation Day on Thursday.Equipped with supercomputers and advanced data-analysis software, the facility is expected to strengthen BSIP scientists’ ability to process large volumes of palaeobiological data, identify fossils and microfossils, analyse climate records and study environmental changes spanning thousands to millions of years.BSIP director Prof M G Thakkar said the AI lab would help scientists move towards faster and more data-driven research while opening up new possibilities in palaeosciences. He said there was a need for digital repositories, automated microfossil identification systems, high-quality training datasets and new analytical frameworks for palaeobiological research.“Artificial intelligence and high-performance computing can help palaeoscientists analyse complex datasets at a scale and speed that was not possible earlier. The new facility will strengthen interdisciplinary research at BSIP and help scientists extract new information from palaeobiological records,” he said.The director emphasised that the AI lab would also support the development of digital repositories and large, high-quality datasets that could be used to train AI and machine-learning models. Such systems could eventually help automate the identification and classification of microfossils and other palaeontological material, reducing the time required for repetitive analysis.BSIP spokesperson and senior scientist Swati Tripathi said the facility would create a bridge between traditional palaeoscience research and emerging computational technologies.“The AI lab will enable our scientists to combine palaeobiological evidence with modern data science. From automated microfossil identification to pattern recognition and large-scale data analysis, AI can make palaeosciences research faster, more systematic and more precise,” she said.Project lead and senior scientist Anjali Trivedi said, “The integration of AI, supercomputing and palaeobiological data would help the institute improve the speed, scale and accuracy of research into Earth’s past. The findings could also help scientists better understand present and future environmental changes.”