Leading UK Conservation Charity Warns of ‘Ticking Time Bomb’ Dangers Posed by AI Revolution
A pine marten (credit: Jenny Hibbert) compared to an AI-generated picture of a pine marten
The Mammal Society has issued a statement to draw attention to risks posed to wildlife conservation by the escalating spread of AI tools.
The Society warns that while AI technologies can enhance data collection, analysis, and predictive modelling, their proliferation can also cause the damaging dissemination of scientific inaccuracies and misinformation about wildlife, while exerting a heavy toll on the planet due to high energy demands.
One of the key concerns highlighted by the Mammal Society is that using AI to facilitate large-scale biodiversity monitoring can introduce false positives into data, caused when a species is reported to be present in a sample when it isn’t. Even small numbers of false positives can cause extreme bias in population estimates which can be hugely detrimental in the context of monitoring rare or threatened species.
The Society also warns of inadvertent damage to conservation efforts and public education around life science caused by using AI image/video generation tools, and the reliance on AI to pull together information for search engines, news articles and academic papers. There is a danger that a ‘vicious cycle’ is created when AI generates, or mistakenly pulls in, inaccurate data or media to an article or piece of research and then this flawed text becomes a source for AI algorithms.
“We in the conservation sector are not Luddites and are already making good use of some of the amazing capabilities of AI in data analysis and wildlife surveying tools,” said Matt Larsen-Daw, CEO of the Mammal Society. “However, the potential implications of any new technology should be considered carefully before it is rolled out, so that issues can be foreseen and mitigated against. While AI tools can be a huge support to researchers and conservationists when used carefully and responsibly, the unprecedented proliferation of AI as a creator and curator of online information is creating a ticking time bomb that could prove to be disastrous to conservation efforts in the future."
To mitigate the risks of AI, the Mammal Society recommends rigorously testing and validating AI algorithms against high-quality, scientifically verified data, as well as taking into account the carbon footprint of AI models used. Maintaining transparency about the limitations of AI and encouraging collaborations between AI developers and wildlife conservation experts is also key. Lastly, efforts should be made to educate the public about the limitations and dangers of AI as a source of information about the complex and ever-developing state of wildlife conservation. The Mammal Society strongly recommends that AI-generated images of wildlife should not be created or shared by conservation organisations without clear and explicit context, and this should be encouraged as good practice for all content creators and media.
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Notes for editors:
For the original position statement, please see here: Use of AI in Conservation — Mammal Society
Mammal Society spokespeople can be provided for interviews. Please contact Alana Scott at media@themammalsociety.org
Illustrative assets can be found here. Please credit the named photographer on non-AI generated images.
AI-generated illustrative assets are watermarked as such. There are 3 pairs of images attached:
An AI-generated fox in a tree, which has uncanny/wrong body proportions and non-typical behaviour. For comparison, a real photograph of a fox sleeping by a tree is attached.
An AI-generated pine marten in a tree, which has the wrong facial markings and looks more like a polecat. This image shows how AI can cause confusion when identifying species. For comparison, a real photograph of a pine marten in a tree is attached.
An AI-generated beaver eating fish. Beavers eating fish is a commonly-held but incorrect belief, as beavers are herbivorous. This image shows how disinformation could be spread through AI. For comparison, a real photograph of a beaver eating plants is attached.
Please use the images with the context described in the points above.
About the Mammal Society
Established in 1954, the Mammal Society is Britain’s leading charity devoted to the science-led conservation of mammals. They work to raise awareness of the issues mammals face, sharing scientific research so that populations can be protected and restored across the British Isles and Ireland. Ensuring a bright future for British mammals, the Mammal Society inspire conservation projects, empower stakeholders through training and resources, and raise public awareness through education and campaigns.