How we can tap non-human intelligence – that of other animals, and plants – to save the world
- Complex problems such as climate change can only be solved by engaging diverse viewpoints and experiences such as those of animals and plants, says James Bridle
- Combine those with the knowledge processing power of machines and there is hope for the planet, argues the writer, visual artist and expert on technology
Ways of Being by James Bridle, pub. Farrar, Straus and Giroux
When it comes to predicting earthquakes, sheep know something we don’t.
For centuries, Italy’s shepherds have claimed that their flocks become agitated days or hours before a tremor – stories long dismissed as superstition. Recently, however, German scientists attached GPS devices to Italian sheep, goats, cows and dogs and tracked their behaviour via signals beamed to the International Space Station.
The data, analysed by a complex computer algorithm, revealed the stories as true; the animals’ powers of premonition are real – even if no scientific reason can explain them – and they could save lives as a critical earthquake early warning system.
For me, the most important thing is to continually insist upon the possibility of alternative futures
“It’s a remarkable example of using this incredible technological apparatus – the GPS, the space station, the computing – to understand and learn from animals,” says James Bridle. “Humans do not have the awareness that animals have nor the kind of knowledge processing that machines have, and yet we all come together to produce this incredible new way of being in the world.”
