12 October 2027
IN-PERSON (INTERNATIONAL)
Birds and Artificial Intelligence
Keynote nominations
We invite nominations for keynote speakers to present on the conference theme.
Deadline: 16 November 2026
Aims and scope
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has infiltrated almost every aspect of modern life, from generative AI chat-based algorithms, to content recommendations and face recognition. Harnessing the benefits of AI to address problems that humans alone could not solve has advanced science in several key areas, such as AlphaFold predicting a protein’s structure from its amino acid sequence. Ornithological research is no exception. Work has already begun to use AI to advance our understanding of bird life, reduce the invasiveness of data collection or help process big-data. We can harness drones and image recognition to conduct population counts, individual recognition, automated behaviour analysis, analyse sounds recordings, and many new ways of automation and modelling. However, these advances also require caution. We must simultaneously consider the impact of these technologies, in terms of environmental costs, but also the ethical and moral ramifications of AI technologies, while being sure that we can trust the outputs.
This conference brings together researchers, data holders, and practitioners to showcase current work linking AI and avian research and present potential problems that could be solved through the application of AI techniques. The meeting aims to consider how these new tools can be used to advance our understanding of birds, covering the following themes:
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- AI to improve data collection
- AI for data checking
- AI innovations in modelling and forecasting
- Developments in AI calibration, validation, and uncertainty
- Other uses of AI
- Unsolved problems
- Ethical use of AI
Parallel conference format
The BOU aims to run inclusive and accessible events. One way we seek to achieve this is by delivering our conferences in parallel on a freely accessible social media platform. From 2025 onwards, this has been Bluesky.
All presenters at our conferences will be invited to post a summary of their presentation on Bluesky, and will be provided with helpful guidelines to support them in doing so. No conference registration, or Bluesky account, is required to view these presentations.
Social media has broadened the reach of our conferences, attracting a significantly larger and more diverse audience than meetings without this element.
View previous BOU conferences on Bluesky
Scientific Programme Committee
Sam Barrett | University of Salford, UK & BOU Engagement Committee
Daria Dadam | Natural England, UK & BOU Meetings Committee
Liliana Rodrigues Silva | University of Porto, Portugal
Image credits
Starling murmuration | Skander zarrad CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
Sociable Weaver | © Franck Theron & Liliana Rodrigues Silva
Northern Gannet with Bird Solar GPS logger | Stefan Garthe, Verena Peschko, Ulrike Kubetzki, Anna-Marie Corman CC BY 3.0 Wikimedia Commons
