How AI could help forecast quake aftershocks

A group of researchers trained a deep learning program with data about tens of thousands of earthquakes and aftershocks to see if they improve predictions.

Lightning might not strike twice, but earthquakes can. And forecasting where aftershocks will hit might now be a little easier thanks to an assist from artificial intelligence.

Aftershocks can be more destructive than the quakes they follow, making it all the more important for experts to be able to predict them. But while seismologists have methods to forecast when aftershocks will hit and how strong they will be, there is more uncertainty about how to predict where they will strike.