New documentary out on AI and animals! This is a great introduction to the wide range of ways that AI will affect all animals and how we can help steer it in a positive direction. Please share with anyone who might be interested, which of course is everyone. (Also I’m in it) www.aiandanimals.org
A lot of things about AI concern me but for now, environmental impacts rank far down the list. For one thing, AI can help mitigate climate change more than it exacerbates it by improving environmental monitoring, identifying climate trends, and designing efficient energy grids. tinyurl.com/ctza3shd
We have no idea what it feels like to be a bat, a bass, or a barracuda. AI-powered 'ecological neuroscience' could help open a window into other species' lives and how they experience the world. www.thetransmitter.org/artificial-i...
Google's wildfire-spotting AI satellites could save millions of animals from horrible deaths and millions more from having their habitats destroyed. AI poses major risks for wild animals but major opportunities too. sites.research.google/gr/wildfires...
Switzerland has the best animal welfare labels I've seen. Instead of meaningless welfare-washing, they just list the painful procedures the animal was subjected to without painkillers, like castration, force-feeding, or beak-cutting. This should be the law everywhere. tinyurl.com/yfhf3843
Farmed animal cruelty isn't just a 'vegan' concern. Countless farmworkers have flagged the terrible conditions for humans and animals. E.g. lamb slaughterhouse worker Jose: 'I can’t stomach the smell of lamb meat anymore, much less eat it, after seeing what happens there.' tinyurl.com/jcvhy53s
Google and Chinese tech firm Baidu have joined efforts to 'decode' animal communication. This is risky given companies' history of using new tech to exploit other species. NYU's 'More Than Human Life' program aims to guide the regulation of these new technologies. www.nyu.edu/about/news-p...
In the U.S., vehicle collisions kill over 1 million animals *every day*. Thermal AI dashcams that detect animals ahead and alert drivers could be a massive lifesaver, for animals and humans. Hopefully these will soon be a standard safety feature in every car! www.outdoorlife.com/conservation...
Around 92 percent of drugs successfully tested on animals are never approved for sale, generally because they prove to be toxic or ineffective in humans. We need to invest in safer and more reliable methods. www.vox.com/future-perfe...
In the early-to-mid 1900s, pregnancy tests consisted of injecting urine into rabbits and examining their ovaries. Hopefully all uses of animals in science will soon seem equally antiquated and obsolete.
It's fantastic that the UK Government has committed to phasing out animal testing, including by investing in AI methods. These are already outperforming animal testing for cosmetics and are rapidly improving drug discovery and disease research. Win for animals and humans. www.gov.uk/government/n...
It seems to have had major positive impacts on school education in Nigeria and Ghana in a couple of studies: blogs.worldbank.org/en/education... and projects.panickssery.com/docs/henkel-...
I get why people hate 'AI pets' right now. But given how many dogs and cats get abandoned every year, maybe they could end up being a major win for animals? www.theverge.com/gadgets/8778...
And also being an enthusiastic TV and movie viewer! Black Mirror and Wild Robot have both unexpectedly helped me think of ways of framing chapters recently
Looking forward to reading this! Our World In Data is always one of the top sources that I recommend to people interested in data around climate and food systems
Most animal 'aquaculture' is just a euphemism for 'underwater factory farms'. The conditions are so bad that many millions of animals die before reaching slaughter. Great that Animal Equality are continuing to shed light on this: animalequality.org.uk/news/2026/02...
I think when charismatic animals enter the conversation, we should look for opportunities to bring in more neglected and routinely exploited ones as well. E.g. harpooning whales and dolphins is terrible... and so is slaughtering farmed salmon by leaving them to asphyxiate out of water.
People think AI products are overhyped crap because 95% of them are. The garbage is drowning out the 5% that are genuinely impressive and distracting us from the alarmingly quick rate of progress
Maybe one silver lining of AI will be that soon all cute animal videos will be AI-generated rather than requiring actual exploitation...
This kind of language policing from the animal ag industry seems so obviously ridiculous that hopefully this will benefit Oatly's publicity more than it harms them...
Yes, we have a bad track record of using tech developments to exploit animals rather than help them. I also worry that this work will focus on extending respect to charismatic animals like whales while ignoring the overlooked animals that we harm in the greatest numbers, like chickens or salmon.
I'm skeptical of most interspecies communication efforts (should humans really be given the power to talk to other species given how we currently treat them?) but really enjoyed listening to Project CETI's recording of a baby sperm whale being born: listen.projectceti.org
I'm increasingly seeing AI-generated videos of trampolining deer, bear-fighting grandmas, 'newly discovered' species (sea owls?!). These animal deepfakes are everywhere and they're distorting our understanding of other species. Helpful study about where this is headed... tinyurl.com/msc6hs5s
Our latest Sentient Futures newsletter has a bunch of updates on AI’s impacts for animals, including project funding, fellowships, chicken vaccines, ecological research, and AI dog collars. Read it here: substack.com/home/post/p-...
