Gorillas with Digital Wallets: How AI Helps Understand the Needs of Other Species (Jonathan Ledgard, Tehanu)
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Humans express their interests through money. Can animals do the same? And can artificial intelligence truly recognize what animals need? Jonathan Ledgard, writer, former foreign correspondent for The Economist, and founder of the technology start-up Tehanu, believes they can.
In the new episode of Adastra’s podcast, he explains how his team uses sensors and AI to explore the concept of “interspecies money” – a system in which non-human beings could have their own digital identity, wallet, and the ability to express their interests, which humans then help fulfill.
The concept of interspecies money envisions that animals with verified digital identities could have an associated digital wallet. Funds would flow into these wallets through micro-payments from institutions or corporations that impact nature.
The system would then distribute these funds to human agents, people in local communities who perform specific conservation tasks, e.g. protecting territories.
- How can artificial intelligence help protect biodiversity?
- Will we ever objectively understand what is in the “interest” of other species?
- And what happens when the interests of different species collide?