Visitors at the University of Cambridge’s Museum of Zoology will be able to talk to animal exhibits using AI. The museum has set up two-way conversations with 13 different specimens, including extinct animals like the dodo, skeletons of a narwhal and blue fin whale, a red panda, and even a preserved cockroach.
To start chatting, visitors just need to scan a QR code near the exhibit with their phone. The month-long experiment begins on Tuesday, allowing people to ask questions and learn about the animals in a new way.
Jack Ashby, the assistant director, said the goal is to help visitors connect with nature and find out what they are curious about. He hopes that talking to the animals might change how people feel about them, like making a cockroach seem more interesting.
The AI can talk in over 20 languages, and the project is a partnership with a company called Nature Perspectives. This company uses AI to make educational experiences more engaging. Their co-founder, Gal Zanir, said the AI responses are based on scientific facts and the unique features of each animal.
The idea is to strengthen our connection with nature and encourage people to care more about wildlife. The AI has been specially trained with accurate scientific information to ensure the answers are correct.
Other exhibits that will “talk” include brain coral, a butterfly, a giant sloth skeleton, a deer skull, a mallard, a platypus, a huia bird from New Zealand, and a model of a prehistoric creature called Ichthyostega.
Source: news.yahoo
