What
The Ecological Intelligence Agency is an autonomous government agency made up of many localised AI models co-developed with local stewards to advocate for ecological flourishing.
Who
Superflux, commissioned by Policy Lab and Defra Futures
Where & When
United Kingdom, 2023
Why
This is a speculative piece based off the provocation “How can we transform what the freshwater system looks like, 20 years from now and beyond?” The studio aimed to explore labour, climate and data justice from a non-extractive, commons-driven perspective.
It was used as a talking point in a workshop for 80+ experts thinking about how technology, serious play and local communities could radically transform policy-making.
How
Key principles
- Does not claim unlimited access to knowledge
- Does not assume there is a single answer, accounts for multiple cosmologies
- Is non-extractive
- Is accountable, transparent and traceable
- Renders scientific knowledge meaningful through art
- Amplifies typically unheard voices, human & non-human
Functions
- Senses river health to contextualize policies within ecosystems. Themes include chemicals, sewage, and flooding.
- Inputs ranged from ecological and historical data sources to community social media posts.
- Generated AI-driven outputs including
- spoken word poetry in the voice of the River Roding
- ecological impact reports
- policy recommendations & fiscal plans
- infrastructure plans & designs
- online petitions & awareness campaigns