AI system
- System
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Android Earthquake Alerts System (crowdsourced phone-accelerometer detection; alerts for magnitude 4.5 and above)
- Model
-
Not assessed
- Release
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Not assessed
- Application developer
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Google - Role
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Not assessed
- Configuration
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Not assessed
- Inputs and outputs
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Not assessed
- Autonomy
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Not assessed
- Workflow
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A magnitude 6.0 (USGS) quake above the system's 4.5 alert threshold, centered offshore south of Kasos at about 76 km depth. A push alert could therefore outrun the slower waves to Crete and the Dodecanese. Enough Android phones near the epicentre with the Earthquake Alerts setting on to trigger Google's server-side detection. In Europe the system uses the accelerometers in phones instead of seismographs (in.gr). Receiving phones with location (GPS) enabled and an internet connection, which Alphafreepress lists as requirements for the alerts.
- Human oversight
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Not assessed
- Relation to AI
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If the reports are right, the alert was produced end to end by Google's system. Accelerometer triggers from many phones were combined on Google's servers to detect the quake. Alerts were then pushed ahead of the slower waves, as Google's 2020 description and the 2025 Science paper set out. Google's own pages do not use the words AI or machine learning. The Science abstract speaks of smartphone-based earthquake detection algorithms. The OECD Monitor classifies the system as AI doing event detection. That alerts arrived seconds before shaking rests on unattributed statements in four Greek outlets published within a day of the quake. None quotes a recipient, a seismologist or Google. No Google per-event confirmation was found.
- AI contribution
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Android Earthquake Alerts combined signals from phone accelerometers and sent warnings. Greek news reports said that some alerts arrived before the shaking.
Benefits
- Outcome identifiers
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Not assessed
- Benefit
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Android users in Crete and the Dodecanese got Google's quake alert seconds before the M6.0 (Greek press 6.1) Kasos quake of 14 May 2025.
- Category
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Increased Product Safety
- Status
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Not assessed
- Beneficiary groups
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People.
- Beneficiaries
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Not assessed
- Reach
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Not assessed
- Distribution and access
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Not assessed
- Duration
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Not assessed
- Expected?
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Yes
- Costs and harms
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Not assessed
Measurement
- Studies
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Not assessed
- Study design
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Not assessed
- Measurement
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Not assessed
- Setting and sample
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Not assessed
- Measures
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Not assessed
- Comparison
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Assumed alternative: the arrival of the seismic shaking (no warning)
- Results
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Assumed comparison. Result: λίγα δευτερόλεπτα πριν σημειωθεί η σεισμική δόνηση.
- Additional value from AI
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Not assessed
- Limitations
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The reports quote no recipient or Google representative and provide no confirmation for this particular earthquake. Google’s cited descriptions establish an automated detection system but do not identify a learned model.
- Denominators
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Not assessed
- Materials for replication
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Not assessed
Money
- Kind of value
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Not assessed
- Amount
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Not assessed
- Currency and prices
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Not assessed
- Period and unit
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Not assessed
- Realization
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Not assessed
- Recipients and payers
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Not assessed
- Gross or net
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Not assessed
- Included costs
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Not assessed
- Comparison
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Not assessed
- Method
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Not assessed
- Return and payback
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Not assessed
People and places
- Participants
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Developer:
Google. Operator: Google. - Jurisdictions
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Benefit: Kasos,
Greece. Developer: 
United States. Operator: United States. - Ownership and control
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Not assessed
- Dependencies
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Not assessed
- Cross-border connections
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Not assessed
- Geopolitical implications
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Not assessed
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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The server's magnitude and location estimate must be right and early. The 2025 Science paper reports that only 36% of alert recipients got the alert before shaking. Recipients must know what to do with seconds of notice. The Greek reports document no protective action by anyone who received the alert. The phone must have the Earthquake Alerts setting enabled (Alphafreepress: Settings > Safety & Emergency > Earthquake Alerts). The feature must be supported in the region.
- Replication attempts
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Not assessed
- Later findings
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17 July 2025. Two months later Google's team published its Science evaluation of the Android system: over three years it delivered about 18 million alerts a month in 98 countries, and 36% of users who gave feedback received the alert before shaking (the paper does not discuss the Kasos event).
- Availability
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Not assessed
- Institutional decision
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Not assessed
- Grounds
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Not assessed
- Action and result
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Not assessed
- Success criterion
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Not assessed
Evidence
- Source numbers
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AIBD-0130-source-0001–0008
- Citations
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Numbered references below.
- Language
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Not assessed
- Source relationships
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Independent, Developer
- Original evidence
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Not assessed
- Access and versions
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Not assessed
- Supported findings
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Not assessed
- Evidence links
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Not assessed
- Evidence strength
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Not assessed
- Missing evidence
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Not assessed
Grades
- Assessed benefits
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People.
- Depth
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People: 1.
- Reasons
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People: Android users in Crete, the Dodecanese and farther away received a few seconds' message and audible notice of a deep M6.0 quake. Their number is unstated. The reports name no recipient and give no lead time in seconds. They report no damage, injuries or protective action.
- Observed or intended
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Not assessed
- Rubric
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Not assessed
- Assessor and date
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Not assessed
- Alternative assessments
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Not assessed
- Fill
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Independently reported
Entry details
- Kind
-
Not assessed
- Related entries
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Not assessed
- Field
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Disaster risk reduction / earthquake early warning. Consumer smartphones (Android).
- Purpose
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Built to detect earthquakes from the accelerometers of Android phones and combine the signals on Google's servers. It alerts users in the expected shaking zone ahead of the slower seismic waves. It covers quakes of magnitude 4.5 and above. This alert was that intended function.
- Dates
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Date basis unassessed: 2025 (precision unassessed). Updated: 22 October 2026.
- Stage
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Not assessed
- Version
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SHA-256: c434c4947e2c…
References
- Other identifiers
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oecd_aim: 2025-05-14-779c.
- Category mappings
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Not assessed
- Brief
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Not assessed
- Revisions
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6 revisions. Latest: 22 October 2026.
Sources
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Peer-reviewed study Developer
Allen RM, Barski A, Berman M, et al. (2025). Global earthquake detection and warning using Android phones. Science 389(6757):254-259. PMID 40674485.
We show how smartphone-based earthquake detection algorithms can be implemented at scale and improved through postevent analysis.
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Dataset Independent author
U.S. Geological Survey (2025). M 6.0 - 20 km SSE of Fry, Greece (event us7000pz2p, 2025-05-13 22:51:15 UTC, depth 76 km). USGS Earthquake Hazards Program.
M 6.0 - 20 km SSE of Fry, Greece
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News report Independent author
Newsbomb (2025). «Σεισμός τώρα»: Πώς να ενεργοποιήσετε τη νέα εφαρμογή της Google που ενημερώνει για σεισμούς. Newsbomb.gr, 14 May 2025, 23:10.
Πολλοί κάτοικοι κοντινών περιοχών, όπως εκείνοι στην Κρήτη, στα Δωδεκάνησα αλλά και πιο μακριά ενημερώθηκαν έγκαιρα και έλαβαν ειδοποίηση στο κινητό τους λίγα δευτερόλεπτα πριν σημειωθεί η σεισμική δόνηση
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News report Independent author
GizChina Greece (2025). Σεισμός τώρα: πώς να ενεργοποιήσετε τις ειδοποιήσεις στο κινητό. GizChina.gr, 14 May 2025.
αρκετοί κάτοικοι των Δωδεκανήσων, αλλά και ευρύτερων περιοχών, έλαβαν ειδοποιήσεις στο κινητό τους, δευτερόλεπτα πριν το κύμα του σεισμού φτάσει σε αυτούς
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News report Independent author
in.gr (2025). Πώς θα ενεργοποιήσετε την εφαρμογή της Google που προειδοποιεί για σεισμό. in.gr, 15 May 2025, 11:02.
Μια υπηρεσία έγκαιρης προειδοποίησης για σεισμούς που κρύβεται στο λειτουργικό σύστημα Android ήταν αυτή που ενημέρωσε πολλούς χρήστες για τον σεισμό των 6,1 βαθμών
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News report Independent author
Alphafreepress (2025). Κάσος σεισμός 6,1 Ρίχτερ: Πώς λειτουργεί το σύστημα προειδοποίησης στα Android. Alphafreepress.gr, 14 May 2025, 20:42.
το σύστημα σεισμικής ειδοποίησης της Google καταφέρνει να στείλει ενημέρωση στον πολίτη πριν φτάσει το κύμα της δόνησης στην περιοχή του
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Press release Developer
Stogaitis M (2020). Earthquake detection and early alerts, now on your Android phone. Google, The Keyword, 11 August 2020.
The server then combines information from many phones to figure out if an earthquake is happening.
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Press release Developer
Google (n.d.). Android early earthquake warnings. Google Crisis Resilience.
These alerts are only sent for earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater.