Animals and AI
This research stream is lead by Senior Research Fellow in Digital Ethics, Dr Simon Coghlan from the School of Computing and Information systems. The research stream aligns with CAIDE's trustworthy AI research stream. Research projects include the AI-machine-human-animal continuum, the use of apps with domestic pets, and animal-computer interaction.
Call for Abstracts: Digitised and Datafied Animals: Emerging Technologies and Human-Animal Entanglements
The ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society: University of Melbourne and University of Sydney nodes, the Health Focus Area and the People and Institutions Programs, the Centre for AI and Digital Ethics, and the UNSW Sydney Vitalities Lab are seeking abstracts for inclusion at an upcoming workshop that will engage theoretically and methodologically with human-animal entanglements in the digital world.
If you are interested in submitting a synopsis of your work for consideration, review the brief at the link below for more details
Media pieces and event recordings
- Animals, Ethics and Technology: Towards Digital Rights for Animals (June 25 , 2021)
- ‘You wouldn’t hit a dog, so why kill one in Minecraft? Why Violence against virtual animals is an ethical issue’ Simon Coghlan and Lucy Sparrow, The Conversation and Pursuit, 25 September 2020.
Research Projects
- Beyond Anthropomorphism? The AI - Machine - Human - Animal continuum
- Animals and Digital Technologies
Publications
- Improving ethical attitudes to animals with digital technologies: the case of apes and zoos (Ethics and Information Technology | Springer | 2021)
Researchers
- Dr Simon Coghlan
Senior Research Fellow in Digital Ethics
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
University of Melbourne
- Professor Jeannie Paterson
Co-Director - Centre for AI and Digital Ethics
Melbourne Law School
University of Melbourne
- Dr Mia Cobb
Research Fellow in Animal Welfare Science
Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences
University of Melbourne
- Dr Sarah Webber
Research Fellow in Human-Computer Interaction
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
University of Melbourne
- Professor Christine Parker
Professor in Ecological Regulation
Melbourne Law School
University of Melbourne