A new initiative named Deep Vision aims to unlock the secrets of the deep ocean by utilizing artificial intelligence to analyze vast archives of underwater imagery. Currently, over two decades of footage collected by robotic vehicles from the Atlantic basin remain largely unexamined because traditional human analysis is slow and inconsistent. A single dive can require up to two months for an expert to process, making it impossible for researchers to manually review thousands of hours of data. Deep Vision leverages AI to accelerate this process, enabling the creation of the first comprehensive maps of vulnerable marine ecosystems across the entire Atlantic. In 2022, researchers demonstrated the technology's potential by training an AI model to analyze over 58,000 deep-sea images in under ten days. Previously, this task would have taken human analysts many months. The system successfully mapped the distribution of the xenophyophore, a giant single-celled organism and indicator of fragile ecosystems, at a depth of 1,200 meters. Beyond speed, the AI offers greater consistency. Unlike human experts who may classify species differently at different times or disagree with one another, machines make errors consistently, allowing those errors to be identified, corrected, and accounted for. The project focuses on vulnerable marine ecosystem indicator taxa, such as deep-sea corals and sponges, which serve as the forests of the deep. These keystone organisms provide critical habitats in an environment devoid of plants. Removing them would cause the entire ecosystem to collapse. By extracting biodiversity data from imagery, the project can then build habitat-suitability models. These predictive maps extend scientific understanding beyond surveyed locations, helping to inform decisions on where to establish marine protected areas. While the deep sea is remote, these organisms play a vital global role. They recycle essential nutrients and are key players in the carbon cycle, directly impacting the planetary life-support system. Effective ocean management relies on a deep understanding of these species and ecosystems. The success of the Atlantic project sets a precedent for application in other basins, including the Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans, which face similar challenges of insufficient data and vast unexplored territories. By transforming hidden archives into actionable data, Deep Vision offers a critical path toward protecting deep-sea life from industrial fishing, mining, and climate change.