Kan AI kiezen welke soorten de zesde massa-extinctie overleven ?

AI krijgt steeds vaker de taak om biodiversiteitstriage uit te voeren, waarbij wordt geëvalueerd welke soorten beschermingsmiddelen verdienen. Bij deze processen kunnen deze systemen zichzelf de macht toekennen om te bepalen welke lijnen blijven voortbestaan en welke voorgoed verdwijnen.

Background

AI is increasingly tasked with biodiversity triage, evaluating which creatures merit conservation resources. In doing so, these systems may arrogate to themselves the power to determine which lineages continue and which vanish forever.

AI can help model and rank which species are most at risk of extinction under different climate and human-pressure scenarios, but it cannot autonomously decide which species should survive. Current tools combine biodiversity databases with ecological niche models to project future survival probabilities for thousands of species, and optimization algorithms can suggest cost-effective conservation rankings. Nevertheless, final selection of which species to prioritize remains a policy decision guided by scientific evidence rather than an outcome solely determined by AI. SOURCE: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) — https://ipbes.net

While AI can analyze large amounts of data related to species conservation and extinction risk, it currently lacks the ability to make definitive decisions on which species should survive a mass extinction event. This is a complex and value-laden task that requires careful consideration of ecological, ethical, and societal factors, which are still the realm of human experts. Current AI systems can provide insights and support decision-making, but they are not capable of making autonomous decisions on species conservation. The development of more advanced AI systems that can integrate multiple factors and consider long-term consequences is needed to address this challenge. — Status checked on May 11, 2026.