Octopus swimming by rocks Photo by Diane Picchiottino on Unsplash
Our understanding of animal feelings, and the impact of human actions, policies and behaviour on them, will be transformed through a new centre being launched at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience, made possible through a multi-year commitment of £4 million from the Jeremy Coller Foundation, will develop new approaches to studying the feelings of other animals scientifically and use the emerging science of animal sentience to design better policies, laws and ways of caring for other animals.
Under the leadership of its inaugural Director, Professor Jonathan Birch, the new centre – launching in autumn 2025 at LSE – will harness LSE’s interdisciplinary expertise, bringing together LSE’s outstanding faculty and students and working with global thought leaders across philosophy, veterinary medicine, evolutionary biology, comparative psychology, neuroscience, behavioural science, computer science, artificial intelligence, economics and law around a shared research agenda and a shared commitment to benefiting other animals.
The Centre will develop guidance for policy makers around how to shift public attitudes and behaviour and conduct research designed to help NGOs in the emerging animal advocacy sector design more successful interventions. The Centre will also work with stakeholders (in sectors such as science, tech and farming) to explore the ethical use of AI in relation to animals, aiming to develop a code of practice to support the AI industry in ensuring animals and their needs are not forgotten.
Anticipated outcomes of this pathbreaking work could include the adoption of Centre-generated guidance on effecting attitudinal and behavioural change in the day-to-day work of NGOs, the design of more successful interventions around the abolition of inhumane practices affecting animals, and powerful stakeholders (in sectors such as science, tech and farming) declaring that AI must be used ethically in relation to animals.
LSE President and Vice-Chancellor Larry Kramer said: “The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience is in perfect keeping with LSE’s tradition of supporting research, teaching, and thoughtful policy on important subjects that don’t always get the attention they deserve. Research on animals’ needs, feelings and capabilities has important implications for ethics, policy, and law. I am immensely grateful to the Jeremy Coller Foundation for enabling us to focus on this important area of study.”
Professor Jonathan Birch, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at LSE and the Centre’s inaugural Director, commented: “The new Centre, the first of its kind in the world, will be a place for ethical moonshots. Let's make a world in which all sentient beings are respected, even the smallest ones. Let's make a world where AI is used to benefit all animals, not to facilitate cruelty. Let's make a world in which people are empowered to act in accordance with their love of other animals rather than being nudged towards indifference. Some say these are impossible dreams, but the boundary between the ‘possible’ and the allegedly ‘impossible’ is one we aim to move.”
Jeremy Coller commented: “We are a speciesist species - only when we have a better understanding of how other animals feel and communicate will we be able to acknowledge our own shortcomings in how we treat them. Just as the Rosetta Stone unlocked the secrets of hieroglyphics, I am convinced the power of AI can help us unlock our understanding of how other animals experience their interactions with humans. We are delighted to partner with the LSE to support Jonathan’s ground-breaking research exploring the intersection between animal sentience, ethics and AI.”
Read some personal words from Centre Director Professor Jonathan Birch about the centre's mission.