Natural and artificial intelligences: some anthropological reflections from the Festival della Biodiversità 2025

Abstract

The 19th edition of the Festival della Biodiversità, held from May 31 to June 8, 2025, developed the topic “Natural and artificial intelligences” through a complex multidisciplinary program, aimed at exploring the interactions between humans, the environment, digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI). Promoted by a network of institutional and cultural entities, the Festival featured the collaboration of the Scientific and Artistic Committees, whose members discussed the epistemological, ecological, and sociopolitical implications linked to the development of AI. This article, born from the author’s experience as an anthropologist and member of the Scientific Committee, offers an anthropological perspective on the theme centred on the deconstruction of dichotomies such as modernity/tradition, digital/non-digital societies and nature/culture. It also draws on some reflections developed from recent ethnographic research conducted in North-Eastern Brazil. The analysis focuses on the role of AI and ICTs in the processes of identity redefinition and sociopolitical affirmation among native peoples, highlighting how digital technologies – though developed within neoliberal frameworks – can become tools of agency and resistance. Viewed through this lens, the Festival is therefore configured as a theoretical and practical laboratory aimed at rethinking biodiversity and digital technologies through more complex, pluralistic, and inclusive paradigms.