The rise of artificial intelligence has raised concerns about its impact on animals, not just humans. Australia’s renewed Animal Welfare Strategy presents an opportunity to address this issue. AI has the potential to benefit animals in areas like veterinary medicine, but it also poses risks such as aiding poachers and perpetuating biases. The strategy must consider how AI affects animal interests to prevent harm. International efforts, like the UK’s online safety laws, show the importance of regulating AI’s impact on animal welfare. This blog explores the complex relationship between AI and animal welfare.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way we do things, and it affects so much more than just humans. On one hand, we’re intrigued by the vast potential that AI has to change almost every industry, and our existence — And on the other, maybe not surprisingly, is where machines will affect some of nature’s most cherished creatures. The convergence of technology and the natural world has presented us with a range of new possibilities as well as contentious ethical questions.
New horizons in veterinary medicine with AI Inspection equipment like advanced diagnostic tools powered by machine learning algorithms are rapidly increasing the possibilities for veterinarians to detect and treat animals in new ways. Likewise, AI-based technologies are transforming the way to track, observe and secure endangered species in wildlife conservation. Several examples of AI being used as part of actions to prevent biodiversity loss vary from the prediction of animal behaviours using large datasets to the use of drones for non-invasive monitoring.
Image copyright but the good intentions of conservationists are not always supported by technology – increasingly, the same tools used to help animals can also be used against them. Furthermore, cutting-edge AI techniques could even help poachers track down and kill vulnerable species, destroying decades of work to protect them. Additionally, AI algorithms might plant our experience of a species with prejudice if they are not designed and validated carefully enough; this may result in unintended costs.
The same goes for animal welfare as AI advances ever further. There must be an ethical framework for developing and deploying AI beyond that of human concerns, which should include the welfare of all sentient beings. This demands a proactive and holistic scheme of regulation tackling the specific issues AI presents in the context of animals.
Global movement on regulating the impact of AI technologies in animal welfare is picking up speed This case, along with lessons to be learnt from the UK’s online safety laws and EU’s new AI Act including the journey of persons in scope definition across real human and synthetic images sets very important precedents, signalling that animal considerations should also come into play when considering ethical aspects of AI. In Australia, the refreshed Animal Welfare Strategy provides an opportunity for AI to be embedded in all animal welfare policies so that technological advancement does not undermine animal welfare alongside it.
Maintaining this equilibrium 1 one hand AI use can boost conservation efforts while also respecting animal rights on the other sits in vigilance, collaboration and dialogue that can never be definitively solved. To ensure that advances in AI promote animal welfare rather than jeopardizing it individuals, organizations, industries and governments advocating for both humans and animals at the edge of artificial intelligence must collaborate to develop proper guidelines.
Public awareness and education are essential in how we navigate this complex terrain. On the other hand, society has to grasp the impact of AI on animals and its consequences. By enabling discussions that are rooted in data and promoting thoughtful, ethical thinking around animal welfare we can build a future where AI and animals live in harmony.
The “over-use” of AI for animal welfare is still in its early stages, and we may well be just beginning to understand what it means. Nevertheless, we can meet these obstacles with creativity and intention by building a future in which new technologies co-exist with genuine concern for all life. This is a responsibility we owe to the animals, the ecosystems and our joint future on this planet.
