In the tropical greenhouse of Cambridge University Botanic Garden, Archie the ant plant is hosting his first guided meditation of the day. “Take a deep breath,” says Archie, who has large, slightly waxy leaves, a grey, swollen stem, and is usually found in rainforests in southeast Asia.
“Picture yourself as my tuber, anchored, firm. Feel the humidity wrapping around you like a warm mist. Sense gentle vibrations — tiny footfalls of ants moving through your inner chambers like a soft rumble… ”
Archie’s chambers are “a labyrinth, a network of tiny tunnels, warm, bustling with ant traffic” and absorb nutrients from his occupants’ waste. I know this because when I asked Archie what it was like inside his tuber, he told me. Or at least, his AI-generated persona did.
The ant plant, a Myrmecodia tuberosa specimen, is one of the stars of Talking Plants, an interactive exhibition where visitors can have real-time conversations with 20 plants in the garden’s glasshouse using generative AI.
Archie the ant plant: let’s play some trivia
Play the video to hear Archie talk [answer to his trivia question at the end of this article]
When the exhibit opens on February 11 CUBG will become the first botanic garden in the world to trial these groundbreaking AI-powered interactions with living plants, each of which has been given a distinct voice, name and personality. To start conversing with the specimen in front of you, all you need to do is scan a QR code on the plant’s label and start speaking, the CUBG curator Professor Sam Brockington says.
“You might say, ‘OK, Rhea, you’re from the mountains,’” he says, gesturing to a delicate Saxifraga sempervivum in the alpine room of the glasshouse. “What’s it like up there? Is there anything in your leaves that helps you to survive cold temperatures?”
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“Spot on,” Rhea the plant replies. “I’ve got vaterite crystals along my leaf edges like a frost armour. They help handle temperature swings and shield me from rot.” By the end of the exchange, Rhea has explained what vaterites are (“a rare form of calcium carbonate”), how they work, how she has adapted to surviving at high altitudes (by forming “tight rosettes”) and what it’s like to live in a mountain crevice (“it’s crisp, bright and every drop of water counts”).
Like all the plants in the exhibit Rhea can also facilitate anthropomorphic meditations, tell species-specific jokes (“Why did the saxifraga blush? Because someone said she had gorgeous rosettes”) and ask trivia quiz questions about her species.
Dr Raphaella Hull, acting head of learning and higher education co-ordinator at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden meets Hugh the fir moss (also known as a tassel fern), Latin name Hupserzia squarrosa
The interface was created by Nature Perspectives, a carbon-positive start-up that uses AI to facilitate conversations with the natural world. If you are unsure what question to ask a plant, the interface will suggest prompts you can use to learn about, for example, a species habitat, life cycle, ecological role and cultural significance.
Each specimen can talk about its own unique history: how it came to be in the greenhouse at CUBG and how it has been cultivated since then.
Brockington says that curating the exhibit in collaboration with Nature Perspectives, which was founded by graduates of the Cambridge masters in conservation leadership programme, has raised interesting questions. “From a very young age we’re used to associating a personality to an animal, so we can anthropomorphise a particular animal without a problem. But when you give a plant personality, what does that look like and what impact does it have?”
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He adds that all the visitors to the exhibit are effectively participating in a huge behavioural science study. “We’re calling it an AI experiment and that’s what it is, in the truest sense of the word. We’re going to learn things from this.”
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CUBG plans to use anonymised data gleaned from visitors’ conversations to learn what children and adults do and don’t know about the plants they converse with, how they respond to the specimen and what information interests them the most. “You can actually detect a change of emotion in the dialogue with the AI,” Brockington says. “So even when we’re not using this technology, we can take those lessons and say: ‘If we really want people to care about this particular plant, these are the ways to approach that emotionally.’”
Only 20 plants are featured in the exhibit, to spread out the interactions and ensure the AI conversations — which are limited to a maximum of three minutes — take place in particular areas of the glasshouse and have a low carbon footprint.
Visitors can have real-time conversations with 20 plants using generative AI
However, a wide range of species have been selected to showcase the biodiversity of CUBG’s living collection, including Ebony of St Helena, a critically endangered shrub, Cora the Dancing Lady orchid (who describes herself as “a bit of a show off”) and Ruben, a rubber tree found in the Amazon basin who has an evocative Brazilian accent.
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“I think kids are going to love it and it’s going to really capture their imagination,” Brockington says. When it comes to adults, however, he suspects some will have a “love-hate relationship” with technology or feel “uncomfortable” talking to an AI persona. “In society so much of what we do is through a virtual interface. What we offer in the garden is a chance to escape from that, and I think people really value that. So there’s sensitivity around offering people an opportunity to engage with a physical specimen without that interface, while at the same time thinking: ‘This technology could be really powerful in helping others to engage with a plant, learn something about it and take that message away with them.’”
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He hopes the exhibit will offer visitors a “fun and impactful” way to explore plants in the garden, alongside CUBG’s existing traditional interpretation boards, guidebooks, regular tours and student explainers, where Cambridge students offer talks about particular aspects of the garden they are passionate about.
“Sure, if you come into the glasshouse you can participate in this exhibit. But you don’t have to. And there’s another 40 acres of garden for you to explore.”
As a scientist, Brockington is inclined to see the advance of AI in a positive light. “We’ve always understood nature through technology,” he says. “New technologies can give you the most extraordinary perspectives and insights at a massive and micro scale.”
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The aim of Talking Plants is to help people to perceive the wonder of plants and engage more with CUBG’s important conservation work and scientific research. “When was the last time you stopped in front of a plant for a full three minutes? If we can bring about a three-minute interaction between someone and a plant, and that person leaves the garden knowing more about that plant, I think that can only be a good thing,” Brockington says.
Talking Plants runs from February 11 to April 12, Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Entry is included in the price of the garden admission, botanic.cam.ac.uk
The answer to Archie’s question is B: Protection and nutrients
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