This report summarises the results of a short research project to explore the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the future of knowledge professions, with a particular focus on nature and the environment.
The project was run from January to April 2024 and was part of a broader collaboration between organisations seeking to understand the strategic implications of AI. Work focused on a horizon scanning exercise, creation of trends / thematic effects (‘change cards’), and an in-depth workshop involving practitioners from Natural England and partner organisations.
Insights challenged assumptions concerning the extent to which AI applications can be grouped together for strategic / management purposes and emphasised the importance of understanding context (how and to what end AI is deployed) in anticipating opportunities and challenges brought by AI.
This report highlights key emerging trends in AI as relates to nature and the environment and discussion points from practitioners: data and gaps, power and vulnerability, rights and no rights, perceptions of opportunities and threats, and issues of increasing AI scope alongside greater complexity.