Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast Listening to the Living World: Can AI help us hear the planet?
Aug 28, 2025
Aza Raskin, co-founder of the Earth Species Project, and Jane Lawton, its Managing Director, delve into the revolutionary intersection of AI and nature. They discuss how AI can translate animal communication and the implications for understanding ecosystems. The conversation also explores the potential of AI to spark a cultural shift in our relationship with the environment. With intriguing insights on ecocentric governance and nature's legal voice, they highlight the urgency of addressing environmental crises through innovative technology.
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Decarbonize Grids To Limit AI Emissions
- Cristiana Figueres separates energy demand from carbon intensity when assessing AI's climate impact.
- Decarbonizing grids is the key lever to reduce AI's emissions even as electricity use rises.
AI Is A Multi-Layered Disruption
- Paul Dickinson calls AI an 'onion' with many layers: energy, capability, disruption to employment, and political effects.
- Its unpredictability and potential to reshape social systems make governance critical.
AI Could Trigger A Galileo Moment
- Aza Raskin frames AI-driven animal communication as a potential Galileo moment that could change human self-understanding.
- New perception tools can reveal rich, unseen ecosystems of communication and shift cultural myths about human exceptionalism.
