{"id":32,"date":"2026-02-15T18:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T18:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/animalsintranslation\/?page_id=32"},"modified":"2026-04-21T15:40:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T15:40:07","slug":"conference","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/animalsintranslation\/conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

CfP<\/strong><\/p>\n

Natures in Translation: AI, Ethics and Environmental Conservation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lancaster University, UK<\/strong><\/p>\n

1-2 October 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Conference funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and BRAID<\/p>\n

Abstract submission deadline: 30 April 2026<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Confirmed keynote speakers<\/strong>: Prof. Ursula K. Heise (UCLA), Prof. \u015eebnem Susam-Saraeva (Edinburgh University).<\/p>\n

Confirmed keynote performance:<\/strong> Khairani Barokka<\/p>\n

The question of who can speak on behalf of the more-than-human world has been central to the development of environmental studies as well as animal and plant studies. As new AI technologies promise to translate animal and plant communications into human language(s), these questions are also of increasing importance to biologists, ethologists, humanities scholars and animal conservation actors. In their promotional and public-facing discourse, AI initiatives such as Earth Species Project and Cetacean Translation Initiative (CETI) envision a future where humans might bridge the communication gap between themselves and non-human species with AI technologies. The intellectual, corporate and media narratives articulated around the generative AI technologies involved promise not only to improve human understanding of the natural world, but to also catalyze a cultural shift in how we interact with non-human species and the environment. This interdisciplinary conference explores the ethical implications of AI-assisted animal translation for environmental conservation and human-environmental relations. How might the use of AI to translate more-than-human communication help or hinder environmental conservation practices within a multispecies justice framework?<\/p>\n

At this conference, we invite perspectives from translation studies, animal behaviour science, philosophy, law, literature, computer science, social science, digital humanities and related fields to address urgent questions relating to the use of AI for environmental conservation purposes. Who has authority to speak for animals? How do these technologies extract, process and interpret data, and what assumptions do they embed about animal communication? Do they serve multispecies justice or reinforce anthropocentric perspectives?\u00a0 What might a more expansive understanding of \u201clistening\u201d at the intersection of environmental conservation, translation studies, critical AI studies and media theory entail? What broader inter-disciplinary framework and collaborations can be developed to tackle these important epistemological, ethical, and ecological questions?<\/p>\n

Target Audience<\/u><\/p>\n

This\u00a0AHRC BRAID-funded\u00a0conference aims to build bridges between science,\u00a0humanities\u00a0and social science scholars, as well as practitioners working in conservation, animal welfare, AI development, animal studies, and environmental advocacy. We particularly welcome contributions that engage across disciplinary boundaries and that bring critical\u00a0and creative\u00a0perspectives to\u00a0bear on\u00a0emerging technologies.<\/p>\n

A non-exhaustive list of\u00a0possible presentation\u00a0topics includes:<\/u><\/p>\n

Interspecies Communication: Science, Ethics and Translation<\/strong><\/p>\n