Artificial intelligence (AI) holds the potential to dramatically impact the lives of non-human animals (hereafter: animals), for good or bad. It has opened a whole new range of possibilities to exploit and control animals while at the same time opening the way for understanding animals and communicating with them in a hitherto unimaginable way. The impacts of AI on humans receive a lot of attention, while the impacts of AI on animals and the human–animal relationship remain underexplored. For example, ethical guidelines on AI rarely discuss animals (Owe and Baum 2021; Ryan 2022).
The use of AI raises several ethical challenges concerning its impact on animals, which have only recently started receiving attention in the literature. There are several ethical considerations in the current field of AI ethics and animals. For example, speciesist bias in algorithms can either reinforce the popular image of animals as commodities and edible products, or it can paint an overly rosy picture of the way ‘production animals’ are housed (Hagendorff et al, 2023). Datafication in animal farming may lead to the further objectification of animals (Bos et al. 2018). It may lead us to conceive of animals as a ‘batch of data’. Precision livestock farming (PLF) may also lead to alienation between farmers and animals and erode farmers’ experiential knowledge. Farming systems that are run by AI harbour many health and welfare risks in case of malfunction. In addition, recent research examines AI use in urban or wild animals may have unintended consequences for animal behaviour and welfare. Also, other research has evaluated the ethical implications of trying to communicate with whales or other animals with AI (Ryan and Bossert, 2024).
This new collection focuses on the various impacts that AI technologies can have on non-humans and how to deal with these ethically. Overall, the core question in this new collection is: How can we ensure that this technology is developed ethically, taking animals’ interests into account and contributing to a positive human-animal relationship?
This new collection aims to discuss the ethical aspects of a wide range of AI applications to animals and their ethical consequences. The collection will comprise of many new evaluations of the ethics of AI and animals, while building upon several current themes in the area. The specific themes of this new collection will be:
- AI in precision livestock farming
- AI in animal testing
- AI in veterinary medicine and companion animals
- AI to interpret or communicate with animals
- AI to understand animal cognition, emotions, or behaviours
- AI for animal protection and conservation
- AI, climate change, and biodiversity
The collection will be of particular interest to those working in animal ethics, engineering ethics (specifically, AI ethics), science ethics (specifically, papers on animal experimentation and veterinary applications of AI), and environmental ethics (as much of the expected research will also concentrate on wild animals and ecological impacts). It will also be important for those working in AI and AI ethics to reflect on the importance of considering animals in their work.
The proposed deadlines are:
- Submission deadline – November 30th (2025)
- Reviews complete – January 31st (2026)
- Revisions resubmitted – February 28th (2026)
- Special issue publication – May 1st (2026)
More information:
https://link.springer.com/collections/acgahfacaf