Interspecies Finance: A New Frontier in Financial Inclusion
The concept of financial inclusion is expanding beyond the human realm, venturing into the uncharted territory of animal finance. A pilot project in Rwanda is exploring "interspecies money," a system that connects the needs of mountain gorillas with the resources of humans. This innovative approach employs sensors and artificial intelligence to identify the animals’ needs, such as removing a poacher’s snare. The system then recruits a nearby human to perform the task and issues payment upon completion. This creates a person-to-animal-to-person (P2A2P) transaction flow, placing the gorilla at the center of a novel financial ecosystem. This pilot program, currently involving a family of 19 gorillas, is slated for expansion across Rwanda next year. While the gorillas aren’t using cryptocurrency due to limited network connectivity in their habitat, the project raises intriguing questions about the future of decentralized finance and its potential application to animal welfare.
Beyond Crypto: Exploring Digital Identity for Animals
The Rwandan gorilla project sparks a broader discussion about the potential of digital identity for animals. While equipping gorillas with individual cryptocurrency wallets and expecting them to manage their own finances might seem impractical, the concept of custodial wallets, managed by a trusted entity, offers a more realistic approach. Transaction authentication remains a key challenge. While PINs might prove difficult for gorillas, other biometric solutions, like facial recognition, hold promise. The technology for animal facial recognition is already quite advanced. Systems exist that can identify individual primates from 41 different species with 94% accuracy. Open-source projects like BearID achieve high accuracy in bear facial detection and classification. These advancements suggest that developing a similar system for gorillas, GorillaID, with even higher accuracy is within reach.
The Expanding World of Animal Biometrics
The applications of animal biometrics extend far beyond primates. Pig face recognition is a growing industry in China, where farmers utilize the technology to optimize feeding, identify sick animals, and monitor herd behavior. Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) is also benefiting from advancements in deep learning, with recent research achieving impressive accuracy in cow face detection and identification. Beyond facial recognition, other biometrics are being explored, such as nose prints for dogs, with startups achieving high accuracy in canine identification. As technology continues to evolve, combining sensors, biometrics, and AI, the possibilities for animal biometrics will expand, creating new commercial opportunities in various sectors.
Economic Value and Fintech Opportunities
The identification of individual animals and the association of a digital identity with them carries significant economic value. This translates into exciting opportunities in the fintech space. Imagine an app that tracks an animal’s appearances in nature documentaries and automatically distributes royalties via a blockchain. Such innovative applications are just the beginning of what’s possible. Digital identity is not limited to humans, companies, or animals; it encompasses everything. We need to envision identity infrastructures that can accommodate all these users and their diverse use cases. While each implementation will differ, they should all interoperate within a common framework.
The Future of Interspecies Finance and Beyond
The Rwandan gorilla project serves as a compelling example of how technology can bridge the gap between human and animal worlds, facilitating financial inclusion for non-human species. As we move towards a more decentralized future, the potential of interspecies finance and the broader implications of digital identity for animals deserve further exploration. These advancements not only offer innovative solutions for animal welfare but also raise important questions about the future of finance, technology, and the interconnectedness of all living things. The concept of animals engaging directly with financial systems may seem far-fetched now, but the progress being made in animal biometrics and the growing interest in animal welfare suggest that this may become a reality sooner than we think.
Building an Inclusive Digital Identity Ecosystem
The development of digital identity systems for animals necessitates a careful consideration of ethical implications and potential challenges. Ensuring data privacy, security, and responsible use of these technologies is crucial. As we explore the possibilities of interspecies finance and animal-centric digital identity, we must prioritize the well-being of animals and avoid any unintended negative consequences. The focus should be on developing solutions that benefit both animals and humans, fostering a more harmonious and interconnected world. This requires collaboration between technologists, conservationists, ethicists, and policymakers to create a framework that balances innovation with responsible implementation.
