Nature Perspectives - Fostering meaningful connections with the natural world through AI simulations of nonhuman perspectives
Project Overview
Nature Perspectives has embarked on an exciting journey to simulate nonhuman perspectives, using AI to enable meaningful conversations with the natural world. Through meaningful conversational experiences, we set out to reimagine our engagement with the rest of nature, promote nature’s agency in our societies, and spark new scientific endeavours.
Project Aims
With a mission to foster profound connections with the natural world, promote nature's agency within society, and spark new scientific endeavours, we will apply our transformative approach across a broad spectrum—from public engagement and education to scientific research, legal representation, policy-making, and beyond, fostering a society where nature is not just heard, but valued and considered.
Key Activities
With our prototype and pilots as a foundation, we are entering the next phase: developing a robust technological base layer to support diverse conservation use-cases. This platform will scale our initiative, enabling museums, botanic gardens, national parks, and conservation organisations to create tailored experiences that connect the public with nonhuman perspectives. We will develop ethical guidelines to responsible AI representation of nature, deploy our platform across varied conservation contexts, and generate insights to inform strategies. Additionally, we’ll establish the first-of-its-kind data repository of human-nonhuman interactions, providing a valuable resource for social and conservation science research, unlocking innovative approaches for conservation impact.
Expected Conservation Impact
We expect to realise three long-term conservation impacts:
1. Fostering profound connections with the natural World: We envision creating new, enduring, and deeper connections with nature, extending beyond the simulations to encourage real-world engagement and a willingness to act for nature.
2. Sparking new scientific endeavours: We anticipate inspiring new fields of research leveraging the novel representations of nature and the unique data generated from human-simulated-nonhuman interactions, contributing to effective conservation strategies.
3. Promoting nature’s agency within our societies: This longer-term impact focuses on integrating nature's perspectives in spheres traditionally devoid of its presence, including policy-making, design, law, and education. This will be driven by exploring bold use-case scenarios to represent nature in these spheres.
Expected Outputs
1. Fully-Fledged platform: Developing our prototypes into an innovative platform that enables conservation stakeholders to simulate and engage with perspectives of natural entities.
2. Ethical Guidelines: We will formulate robust guidelines addressing ethical, scientific, and social considerations for the responsible deployment of simulated nonhuman perspectives.
3. Institutional Decision-Making: Deploying our platform in at least one decision-making environment. This experiment will explore the potential of our platform to represent nature’s interests in institutional settings.
4. Data Repository: Establishing the first database of human-nonhuman interactions, creating a new data resource to transform research in social, behavioural, and conservation sciences.
5. Academic & Public Knowledge Dissemination: Publishing at least one article and producing content to showcase our innovative approach.
Project Team
 | Gal Zanir (2021-22) Founder and CEO at Nature Perspectives I am a passionate wildlife biologist and entrepreneur at the forefront of conservation innovation, with expertise in leveraging AI and emerging technologies to drive systemic change. My entrepreneurial journey began with co-founding Wild Biotech Ltd, where I led global expeditions to explore wildlife and their microbiomes, honing my skills in management, entrepreneurship, and navigating complex challenges. My academic journey includes a Master's in Conservation Leadership from the University of Cambridge, where I researched 'The Rethinking of Conservation Paradigms,' sharpening my critical thinking and leadership abilities. At Unearthodox, I led the 'Digital Disruption' and 'SciFi, AI, and Futures for Nature,' initiatives, publishing resources to make emerging technologies accessible to conservationists. For the past eighteen months, I’ve focused on Nature Perspectives, drawing on my background and passion to establish its philosophical, technological, and operational foundations. Nature Perspectives, for me, is the culmination of my lifelong devotion to connecting people with nature. |
 | Tatjana Baleta (2019-20) Science and Storytelling Lead at Nature Perspectives and Wikimedia Fellow for Climate at the Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter I am an environmental science communicator, writer, and biology nerd. I hold undergraduate degrees in ecology, evolution, and genetics from the University of Cape Town and an MPhil in Conservation Leadership at the University of Cambridge (2019–2020). I am passionate about combining scientific expertise with creative storytelling to share the wonders of the natural world while empowering audiences with actionable knowledge. I have worked internationally with organizations such as Sea Change Project (creators of the Oscar-winning My Octopus Teacher), WILDLABS (the conservation technology network), and as a manta ray field assistant for the Marine Megafauna Foundation. Currently, I am the Wikimedia Fellow at the Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, where I bridge the science-public communication gap, combat misinformation, and make climate change knowledge more accessible. At Nature Perspectives, I lead the crafting of engaging factual-based simulations that foster learning and meaningful connections. |
 | Abhik Palit (2021-22) Behavioural Sciences Lead at Nature Perspectives and Senior Communication Associate at The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) I'm a strategic thinker in sustainable development and conservation, with a strong focus on community-driven approaches and valuable experience forging partnerships. With Master’s degrees in Development Studies and Conservation Leadership, my career thus far has spanned roles in government, NGOs, the private sector and academia, I have championed community-centric conservation efforts and led diverse stakeholder collaborations. At WWF-India, I addressed challenges ranging from human-wildlife conflict to sustainable tourism and resource management. As a Development Consultant working with local governments in India, I contributed to diverse community development programs. At Cambridge City Council, I built partnerships to promote diversity and environmental sustainability, and my current role at the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation has enhanced my skills in strategic communication and research with a focus on impact and evidence. At Nature Perspectives, I lead research on behaviour change, shape our social science research roadmap, and facilitate key partnerships. |