Redefining Intelligence: From Anthropocentric to Relational AI-Species Communication

Kerri Lake

Keywords: bias acknowledgment protocols, interspecies intelligence, collaborative AI frameworks, three-way AI architecture, perceive relate apply framework, animal communication ethics, relational intelligence models, methodological bias, non-hierarchical intelligence, human-animal-AI partnerships

TL;DR: We shift from AI-as-translator to AI-as-training-wheels to expand human awareness, enabling genuine three-way collaboration with other species.

Abstract: What if we can position AI to enhance human awareness and not just "translate" signals? Current AI approaches to animal communication position AI as decoders translating animal signals for humans—what if this paradigm eliminates data crucial to understanding? This signal-based model systematically excludes unquantifiable awareness-based information that may carry primary meaning in interspecies interactions, creating what we term "unconscious bias against unmeasurable data." By using AI to reorganize existing and emerging data with respect to our framework, we propose a paradigm where intelligence is not viewed as problem-solution thinking but is instead recognized as a relational matrix. We enable three-way collaboration between human awareness, AI pattern recognition, and species or ecosystem expression. Rather than AI-as-translator, we're developing AI-as-bridge through the perceive-relate to-apply framework. This shift addresses methodological bias in animal communication research that currently excludes complex behaviors not fitting code-like signal patterns. Our approach introduces bias acknowledgment protocols as a formal scientific contribution while maintaining empirical rigor. Case studies with equine partnerships demonstrate measurable outcomes including physiological synchronization and therapeutic effectiveness, validated through more than ten peer-reviewed studies. Aligning with the Center for Humane Technology's research on regenerative design, our approach demonstrates how relational AI development naturally creates ethical safeguards against species exploitation by embedding relational awareness into the technology's foundational architecture. Five prototype web applications provide proof-of-concept that offer researchers direct experience with this relational intelligence framework. This paradigm offers humanity pathways to re-engage the family of life as a contributor to communication through expanded intelligence rather than remaining separate through anthropocentric control and dependence on AI translation.

Submission Number: 4