AI is already shaping the lives of many animals today – sometimes directly (e.g. use in factory farming), and sometimes indirectly (e.g. speciesist bias in chatbots and image generation models). This session maps the current and near-future landscape where AI and animal lives intersect, exploring major benefits and risks for animals– as well as key leverage points for advocates.

🧩 Central questions

1. AI benefits: How might current and emerging AI technologies lead to significant improvements in animal welfare?
2. AI risks: How might the very same technologies lead to massive suffering and increased exploitation of animals
3. Leverage points: As advocates, how can we effectively influence the trajectory of these powerful new technologies?

🧭 Learning objectives

1. Understand: Identify current and emerging AI technologies with significant implications for animals.
2. Assess: Evaluate the potential benefits and harms of specific, real-world AI applications. Pinpoint strategic opportunities for intervention (e.g. through research, policy, or technical work) across AI development and deployment.
3. Reason: Apply evidence and principles to the prioritisation of cause areas and approaches within the AI×Animals frontier.
4. Next steps: Identify key resources, organisations, and individuals for further learning and discover opportunities for impact (e.g. jobs, volunteer roles, etc.).

Resources

Required readings

Additional readings (please read at least 1)

Further readings (optional)

Pre-session exercise

Please spend 20-30 minutes completing the following exercise.

• You can write your responses in bullet point format if that’s easier.
• Submit your responses in the weekly Slack thread created by your facilitator in your channel at least 24 hours before your regularly scheduled meeting.
• Leave at least one comment on somebody else’s response.

AI in the wild: your first investigation

Your goal for this exercise is to find one real-world example of how AI is already impacting animals and analyze its potential consequences. You will share your findings in our first group discussion.

Look up a recent news article, blog post, or other web resource that discusses a specific AI application affecting animals. In 4-5 paragraphs:

1. Introduce your example, attaching the link
2. Scope & scale: Which animals are/will be affected, and how many?
3. Net impact: Is this AI application more likely to be beneficial or harmful for those animals? Why?