Amid the hype about AI’s potential to turbocharge human abilities, researchers here in Zoology and the Conservation Research Institute are leading conversations to make sure we advance with eyes wide open.

Last year, Dr Sam Reynolds, a Research Associate in our Conservation Science Group joined 26 other conservation scientists and AI experts in a ‘Horizon Scan’ - an approach pioneered by Professor Bill Sutherland - to think about the ways AI could revolutionise the success of global biodiversity conservation. The international panel agreed on a top 21 ideas, chosen from a longlist of 104, which are now published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

Professor Chris Sandbrook, Director of the Conservation Research Institute says, “I want to urge policy makers, and CEOs of conservation organisations, to think really carefully about how the widespread adoption of AI in society could impact the natural world - even for uses of AI that on the face of it have nothing to do with conservation.”

Professor Sandbrook’s letter on this subject, Beyond the Hype: Navigating the Conservation Implications of Artificial Intelligence was published in Conservation Letters in December 2024.

He adds: “Managing and regulating AI to ensure global biodiversity is protected is an ambitious goal, but it’s vital to make this part of the conversation. At the moment many people in the AI tech sector, and in government, just aren’t thinking about how their work might affect nature at all – they haven’t even noticed that it’s relevant.”

Meanwhile, the Horizon Scan ideas are catalysing discussions that are vital to ensure AI boosts, rather than damages, the impact of conservation work.

Text taken from Jacqueline Garget's article To save nature, AI needs our help

Further reading:

Reynolds, S. A. et al: ‘Conservation changed but not divided.’ Trends in Ecology and Evolution, April 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2025.04.002

Turbocharging the race to protect nature and climate with AI by Jacqueline Garget