Tag Archives: pets

A New Research Center to Investigate How AI Can Facilitate “Human Communication” with Pets

Posted on by
Reply

If your cat is acting aloof, your dog is whining, or your rabbit is doing that quirky foot thing again, you might feel a familiar pang of guilt that most pet owners experience.

For those eager to gain insight into the minds of their devoted companions, help may soon be available thanks to the launch of the first scientific institution focused on the empirical study of animal consciousness.

The Jeremy Coller Centre at Animal Sentience, located at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), will commence its research on September 30th, examining non-human animals, including evolutionarily distinct creatures like insects, crabs, and squid.

Leveraging a diverse range of global expertise, the £4 million center’s initiatives encompass neuroscience, philosophy, veterinary science, law, evolutionary biology, comparative psychology, behavioral science, computer science, economics, and artificial intelligence.

One of its most intriguing projects is to investigate the potential for humans to “communicate” with pets. – However, there are necessary precautions to consider.

“We attribute human traits to pets, and with the rise of AI, the way your pet interacts with you may evolve significantly,” stated Professor Jonathan Burch, the center’s inaugural director.

“Nevertheless, AI frequently produces pleasing but inaccurate responses rather than adhering to objective truths. This poses serious risks to pet welfare,” added Burch, whose advocacy for animal welfare has expanded to include cephalopod mollusks and decapod crustaceans.

Burch highlighted issues like separation anxiety, where dog owners seek reassurance that prolonged absence won’t harm their pets. Future “translation” applications rooted in large-scale language models may promise that reassurance but could mislead by delivering comforting illusions instead of addressing true animal needs.

“We urgently require a framework to ensure the responsible and ethical application of AI concerning animals,” emphasized Burch. “Currently, there’s a complete lack of regulation in this domain. The Centre aims to establish globally recognized ethical standards.”




This research aims to “bridge the gap between what people believe about animals and their actual behavior towards them.” Photo: Zpagistock/Getty Images

Birch also underscored the absence of regulations concerning animals and unmanned vehicles. “We engage in many debates without addressing individuals, but we’re neglecting issues affecting pets.”

AI and agriculture represent another pressing concern for the center. “The agricultural sector is rapidly adopting automation, and this trend will only accelerate,” Burch noted. “Yet, it’s progressing with minimal oversight and dialogue. This poses significant ethical dilemmas about the nature of animal relationships in farming. If such relationships are essential, the current trajectory is not ideal.”

The centre will collaborate with non-governmental organizations to formulate guidance, conduct research, and establish codes of practice to advocate globally.

Jeff Sebo, director of the Environmental Animal Protection Center at New York University, stated that the issues surrounding animal perception and welfare, the influence of AI on animals, and public attitudes toward them are “among the most crucial, challenging, and overlooked matters we face as a society.”

“Humans coexist with millions of species and approximately 100 million individual animals, affecting them worldwide, willingly or not,” he remarked.

Professor Christine Andrews, a trustee of the new center, expressed her ambition to address what she perceives as a significant scientific dilemma. – Particularly, how to restore awareness in the event of a stroke or similar medical emergencies?

“We still struggle to understand why some humans remain aware while others become unresponsive,” she said. “Yet, we recognize that investigating simpler systems may yield answers. Science has advanced significantly in genomics and medicine through the study of basic organisms.”




“A deeper understanding of how other animals feel and communicate will help us recognize our own shortcomings in treating them,” Burch asserts. Photo: Robert Leader/Getty Images

Another trustee, Dr. Christophe Dont, expressed intrigue regarding human perceptions of animal sensations.

“One of today’s most pressing behavioral challenges is closing the gap between what people believe about animals and their actual actions,” he remarked.

“People generally care deeply about animals, yet numerous systems, habits, norms, and economic factors hinder genuine change in treatment practices.”

“I aim to utilize behavioral science to explore resistance to consuming cultivated meat, as an example.”

Jeremy Koller, whose foundation has pledged a multi-year commitment to the Center, aims to revolutionize our “speciesism” mentality.

“Only through a better understanding of other animals’ feelings and communication can we confront our shortcomings in their treatment,” he explained. “Much like the Rosetta Stone revealed the mysteries of hieroglyphics, I believe AI will unlock our comprehension of how other animals experience interactions with humans.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Incredible Upside to the Recent Surge in Invertebrate Pets

Posted on by
Reply

Mexican Red Neatula (Brachypelma Smithi)

Shutterstock/Milan Zygmunt

At the age of seven or eight, my father, an expert in biology, brought home what I initially assumed was just a jar full of sticks. To my surprise, when they began to move, he informed me they were actually stick insects. I found them fascinating; they may not have been cute, but they had a unique charm. They were undeniably cool.

It seems I was ahead of my time. Recently, two Belgian teenagers were released from a Kenyan prison after paying fines related to wildlife copyright violations. They admitted to trying to smuggle 5,000 ants out of the country. Such actions are part of the growing global trade in exotic pets, often reported as “booming”. Their catch included the giant African harvester ants (Messor cephalotes), which can sell for around £170 in the UK.

Ants are just one type of invertebrate being traded and kept as pets. Other creatures in this menagerie include spiders, scorpions, various beetles, cockroaches, grasshoppers, snails, slugs, and stick insects.

Recent research has identified that almost 1,000 invertebrate species are involved in the exotic pet market. Some are traded legally, while others are illegal. The giant African harvester ant is a protected species in Kenya.

Keeping invertebrates as pets might seem like an innocent hobby, but it can have serious implications for biodiversity. Estimates suggest that two-thirds of the arachnids sold are poached from the wild. In Mexico, the population of Brachypelma tarantulas has significantly declined due to overharvesting. Additionally, poachers targeting troglobionts—species adapted to living in caves—in the limestone karsts of southeastern Europe have pushed some insect populations towards extinction.

Unsustainable harvesting further disrupts ecosystems. Invertebrates serve as crucial food sources for many vertebrates and play significant roles in vital ecosystem functions like decomposition and nutrient cycling.

Poaching destroys habitats, harming not only the target animals but also the ecosystems where they reside. Many tarantulas inhabit bromeliads, which also provide shelter for frogs and other creatures. According to Caroline Sayari Fukushima from Tarantupedia, poachers damage these plants, killing them along with the animals relying on them. In some regions, pitfall traps set by poachers are responsible for the deaths of thousands of non-target species.

In Mexico, overharvesting of tarantulas has led to significant population declines.

Exotic invertebrates are also a threat to their new environments. Of the ant species currently being traded, 57 have been classified as invasive by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with 13 identified as some of the worst invaders.

Halting this trade is exceedingly challenging. A Kenyan judge sentenced a Belgian national to a fine of 1 million Kenyan Shillings (£5,700) to signal that wildlife trafficking is intolerable. Nevertheless, smuggling persists. I have discovered numerous websites promoting the giant African harvester ant, which is native only to East Africa.

A Belgian teenager was caught attempting to smuggle invertebrates; as noted in a 2022 study on the global arachnid trade, smuggling these pets is relatively easier than trafficking other animals. They are small, easily concealed, and can evade detection by airport x-ray machines or thermal cameras. Customs officials often lack the necessary taxonomic expertise, allowing protected species to be misidentified as legal imports.

This situation exemplifies the age-old issues of greed, exploitation, and environmental destruction. However, it doesn’t have to remain this way. Biologists suggest that the invertebrate trade can be sustainable. By responsibly harvesting wild species, we can support the livelihoods of some of the world’s poorest communities while minimizing harmful practices like illegal logging. Increased awareness of the trade has spurred much-needed research on the conservation status of various species, bringing attention to those historically overlooked by organizations such as the IUCN.

Collectors often share a genuine interest in the incredible diversity of our planet and can play a role in conservation efforts. They should be encouraged to pursue their hobby within a well-regulated framework that ensures non-invasive and sustainably sourced invertebrates. While I won’t be acquiring any more stick insects, they certainly ignited my interest in nature.

Graham’s Week

What I’m reading

Many Things Under the Rock: The Mystery of the Octopus by David Scheel.

What I’m watching

Survivors on Netflix.

What I’m working on

The York Festival of Ideas is happening this week, so I’m exploring stories and events for inspiration… uh… ideas.

Graham Lawton is a staff writer for New Scientist and author of Must Not Grumble: The Surprising Science of Everyday Ailments. You can follow him @grahamlawton

Topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

The Cognitive Benefits of Owning Cats and Dogs: How Your Pets Can Prevent Cognitive Decline

Posted on by
Reply

As we age, our cognitive abilities, such as memory, language, and attention, tend to decline, and scientists have yet to find a way to prevent this decline.

However, there are steps you can take to slow down this decline, and recent scientific studies suggest that owning a pet could be one of them.

For instance, in a 2022 study conducted by US researchers, they examined the cognitive abilities of 1,369 older individuals covered by Medicare health insurance over a six-year period.

About half of the participants owned pets, and the researchers observed that those who owned pets experienced a slower decline in cognitive abilities compared to non-pet owners.

Furthermore, within the pet-owning group, those who had pets for a longer period performed better on the cognitive tests.

The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) has been tracking the aging process in people over 50 for over 25 years, helping scientists explore the positive effects pets have on the brain.

According to survey results released last year, owning a pet has been linked to slowing down cognitive decline, particularly in individuals who live alone.

Living alone can contribute to a faster decline in cognitive function and a higher risk of dementia, but having a pet appears to help mitigate these risks.

While there is still much to learn about brain health and aging, owning a pet could be a practical approach to maintaining mental sharpness as we grow older.

This article addresses the question posed by George Grainger from Truro: “Can owning a pet really slow down cognitive decline?”

If you have any inquiries, please contact us at the email provided below. For additional information, you can reach out to us via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (please include your name and location).

For more fascinating science content, visit this page.

For further reading:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Iron Age people may have buried their beloved pets, such as dogs and horses along with them

Posted on by
Reply

Remains of dog and baby girl buried in Seminario Vescoville near Verona, Italy

Laffranchi et al. (CC-BY 4.0)

Late Iron Age people in northern Italy were sometimes buried with dogs and horses. Probably because they loved dogs and horses.

Archaeologists often suspect that the ancient worldwide custom of placing animals in human graves is associated with higher socio-economic status, beliefs about the afterlife, or certain family traditions. I was there. However, after thorough investigation, researchers say they are now beginning to suspect that such “community burials” may have simply been expressions of love for devoted non-human family members. Marco Mirella At the University of Bern, Switzerland.

He and his colleagues reexamined bones excavated from the 2,200-year-old Seminario Vescoville cemetery just east of Verona, Italy. There, the Cenomani lived in metal-making communities before and during the Roman conquest.

Most of the 161 graves discovered at the site contained only human remains, but 16 graves also contained whole or partial animal remains. Twelve of the items were pork or beef products, apparently food offerings to the deceased. Zita Laffranchialso at the University of Bern.

However, the remaining four were buried with dogs and/or horses, which were not used for food by the group. Among them were a middle-aged man with a small dog, a young man with part of a horse, a 9-month-old baby girl alongside the dog, and, most unexpectedly, a pony. She was a middle-aged woman. She had a dog’s head placed above her and a dog’s head placed above her head.

“At first, the excavators were surprised to find human legs under the horses, and their first idea was that there were horsemen here, there were warriors.” LaFranch says. However, the woman was buried unarmed, suggesting that her association with the 1.3 meter tall pony had nothing to do with the war.

The researchers found no particular trends in the age of the people buried with the animals, and DNA analysis suggested they were not genetically related to each other. Chemical analysis of these corpses Dietary differences related to socio-economic status were also not revealed compared to human-only graves.

The findings suggest that ancient people may have felt a strong connection to their animals and therefore chose to bury their loved ones with them, the researchers said. “And why not?” says Mirella. “You can never rule that out.”

Another explanation, the researchers added, is that the animals may have had symbolic meaning for the afterlife. For example, in Gallo-Roman religion, The Celtic horse goddess Epona was believed to protect individuals after death..And what about Gallo Romance? Sometimes dogs are associated with the afterlife.. In fact, burying dogs with infants may even have had a purpose: Protecting parents from future baby loss.

Still, the animals in the graves appear to have benefited from careful human care, rather than as disposable livestock. The dog in particular appears to have been fed human food and is showing signs of wound treatment and healing.

So it’s also possible that people were buried with animals for both symbolic and affectionate reasons, Mirella said.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com