When Wildlife Becomes Data: Ethical AI in Biodiversity Monitoring
Join our Summit March 16-19 Online
We are entering a new phase in #biodiversity science. Machines can now detect, classify, and model animal signals at scales that were unthinkable a decade ago. This shift is technically impressive, but it raises questions our institutions are only beginning to confront: What does it mean to interpret animal life through algorithmic systems? Who defines meaning? Where does responsibility sit when interpretation becomes automated? And how do we ensure that listening does not quietly become extraction?
At the same time, the global expansion of Earth Observation exposes uneven realities. In some regions, infrastructure gaps — electricity, connectivity, hardware — remain fundamental barriers. In others, data exists but authority and institutional capacity to govern its use remain limited. These are not purely technical challenges; they are structural ones.
We are bringing these conversations together under one framework for the first time:
Join us:
🗓March 16–19 for two linked convenings:
📌Mach 16-17 🌱Ltome-Katip Ethical Listening Lab will examine AI, inter-species data, and accountability in biodiversity monitoring systems.
&
📌 Mach 18-19 🌍 GEO Indigenous Summit 2026 will address the limits and institutional barriers shaping Earth Observation governance and uptake.
We’ll also be launching the GEO Indigenous Alliance Ethical Toolkit — a practical guide for working with more-than-human biodiversity data (wildlife, soundscapes, ecosystem signals) in AI systems. The toolkit helps researchers and practitioners integrate Indigenous governance principles, community consent, relational accountability, and ecological responsibility directly into conservation technology workflows.
If you are shaping #EO programmes, #AI systems, biodiversity portfolios, or environmental policy, this conversation concerns your work.
We would value your participation in this conversation. If this speaks to your work, please consider sharing it with your network.💙
Registration is free and open to all!
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