A talking dodo leads a new AI experiment at a zoology museum

The last confirmed sighting of a dodo was in the 17th century. But at the Cambridge Museum of Zoology, it is speaking again. These are the skeletal remains of a bird that was extinct by the 1680s—and is one of the first animals humans realized they had driven to extinction. But now it is chatting away, answering anything and everything in a natural conversation. Using AI technology, visitors to the museum can talk to the dodo using their smart devices. It responds to pleasantries, it can explain how it was driven to extinction when sailors arrived at its Mauritius home, and even considers ethical questions like whether it would like to be cloned back into existence by scientists. Jack Ashby, assistant director of the Museum of Zoology Cambridge, thinks AI provides a new way for visitors to interact with its exhibits. He says, “Museums generally choose what to tell people, but in this way they can ask whatever they like and that's really, really valuable, I think. They can have an actual conversation with an animal, with a specimen, and I think brings it to life in a really different way than a normal museum exhibit might.” There are 12 other animal specimens featured in the project, each with its own unique voice. Jack Ashby says, “When I started working with the Nature Perspectives platform, I was just asking factual questions. But because the animal’s personality comes across really quickly, you end up having an actual conversation where you’re asking more about feelings, you’re asking anything fun. You could ask how its day was or what it had for breakfast. You can have a proper conversation. And I think that it’s a different way of engaging. And it's much more real, I think, than most information we get in museums.” The AI technology is provided by Nature Perspectives, an international tech-education company founded by Cambridge graduates who studied together on a Master’s of Conservation Leadership program. The technology is being trialed for a month, and the museum will then analyze the response and the types of conversations it generates. The Nature Perspectives AI experiment runs from 15 October until 15 November 2024. This article was provided by The Associated Press.