This symposium will be a 2-day track as part of the Joint Conference on Philosophy of Computing and AI hosted by the International Association for Computing and Philosophy (IACAP) and the Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour (AISB).
⢠Deadline call for abstracts: 14 February 2025
⢠Conference dates: July 1-3, 2025
⢠Conference website: https://iacapconf.org/
⢠Conference location: University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands.
Symposium Organizers: Leonie N. Bossert, Bernice Bovenkerk, Mark Ryan
Symposium Description:
Artificial intelligence (AI) holds the potential to dramatically impact the lives of domesticated, urban, and wild non-human animals (hereafter: animals), for good or bad (Singer and Fai Tse, 2023). AI-powered drones can take companion dogs for a walk, and animal robots can replace living companion animals or zoo animals (Bossert and Coeckelbergh, 2024). AI can provide alternatives to animal testing, for example, by predicting the toxicity of chemical compounds (Singer and Fai Tse, 2023). On the other hand, experiments with brain-computer interfaces can increase animal use (Coghlan and Parker, 2023). AI is used in self-driving cars, which may or may not be programmed to avoid animals on the road. Monitoring animals via AI-enabled trackers and drones can aid wildlife conservation but can also be abused by poachers (ibid.). AI-powered cameras for the scientific study and protection of wild animals can lead to animals changing their habits (ibid.). Finally, AI promises to make interspecies understanding and communication possible, e.g., with Alaskan humpback whales (McCowan et al., 2023).
However, AI also raises ethical challenges. 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 âproduction animalsâ 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 âbatch of dataâ. Precision livestock farming (PLF) may also lead to alienation between farmers and animals and erode farmersâ experiential knowledge. Farming systems that are run by AI harbour many health and welfare risks in case of malfunction. The use of AI in the case of urban or wild animals may have unintended consequences for animal behaviour and welfare. Trying to communicate with whales or other animals with AI can have detrimental effects on these animalsâ social structures and culture (Ryan and Bossert, 2024).
During this symposium, we will discuss the ethical aspects of a wide range of AI applications in the context of animals. We invite talks that focus on specific applications of AI to animals and their ethical consequences and talks that deal with more theoretical issues around using AI for animals. Besides ethicists and philosophers, we invite scientists and engineers in AI design to join the symposium. The symposium relates to several topics central to the conference, but with animals as a central focus, as opposed to humans.
For example:
- 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
Call for Abstracts:
We warmly invite presentations for this 2-day-symposium. If you want to present your research, please take note of the following information:
- E-mail your abstract (no more than 300 words), with name and contact information of all co-authors, to mark.ryan@wur.nl by February 14th, 2025.
- Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by February 28th.
- The Symposium agenda will be sent to accepted presenters by March 28th.
- The event takes place over two days during the conference (July 1st â July 3rd)
- Following the event, we will invite presenters to develop their presentation into a full-length paper for a special issue.
*Note: The presenters must register for the whole conference and all conference costs and fees are at their own discretion.
References:
Bos, J.M., Bovenkerk, B., Feindt, P.H., and van Dam, Y.K. (2018). The quantified animal: Precision livestock farming and the ethical implications of objectification. Food Ethics 2, 77-92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41055-018-00029-x
Bossert, L.N. and Coeckelbergh, M. (2024). From MilkingBots to RoboDolphins: How AI changes humanâanimal relations and enables alienation towards animals. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications 11, 920. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03441-3
Coghlan, S. and Parker, C. (2023). Harm to nonhuman animals from AI: A systematic account and framework. Philosophy & Technology 36: 25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-023-00627-6
Hagendorff, T., Bossert, L.N., Tse, Y.F. and Singer, P. (2023). Speciesist bias in AI: How AI applications perpetuate discrimination and unfair outcomes against animals. AI and Ethics 3, 717-734. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-022-00199-9
McCowan, B., Hubbard, J., Walker, L., Sharpe, F., Frediani, J. and Doyle, L. (2023). Interactive bioacoustics playback as a tool for detecting and exploring nonhuman intelligence: âConversingâ with an Alaskan humpback whale. PeerJ11:e16349. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16349
Ryan, M. and Bossert, L. (2024) Dr. Doolittle uses AI: Ethical challenges of trying to speak whale. Biological Conservation, 10648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110648
Singer, P. and Fai Tse, Y.F. (2023). AI ethics: the case for including animals. AI and Ethics 3:539â551. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-022-00187-z