Description
The use of AI tools for knowledge synthesis, such as the large language model and knowledge graph, has been proposed as a solution to ecological knowledge fragmentation, which combines field data, models, and socio-economic information to enable causal inferences to be made about social-ecological systems. The EU AI Act was not established to come into effect within the regulatory landscape as these tools transition from research prototypes to operational use, with consent considerations for environmental impact assessment, conservation funding initiatives, and biodiversity policy. The Act's risk-tiering was created with an emphasis on domains like, employment or law enforcement, where the nature of ecological synthesis tools could be deemed to have a direct impact on funding decisions, employment or crime, respectively. Additionally, there is no explicit clarity on whether ecological synthesis tools can be deemed to impact or not impact funding decisions, employment or crime, etc., and should be included in the risk tiering system or excluded. This paper explores whether AI systems based on ecological knowledge synthesis would fall within the definition of "high risk" under the EU AI Act, given the nature of their epistemic profile and the downstream socio-ecological implications. It then asks about the implications of this classification for the application of EU-developed or EU-classified tools in jurisdictions around the globe, including those in the Global South, whose data governance systems, conservation values, and capacities differ. If not well structured, the EU AI Act has the potential to become a European blueprint on ecological AI with Europe-centric perspectives exported to ecosystems and communities that were not consulted during the development process. The paper suggests a framework for assessing the risks posed by these downstream impacts and identifies specific questions that could be explored by various partnership stakeholders.
| Topic | Topic 2: Possibilities for taking context into account in ecological synthesis |
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