By David Stephen
What roles do animals play in human lives and society? What role does AI play in human lives and society? AI, for example, is directly applicable in economic productivity. AI can serve social activities, providing a range of mental welfare, of deep relatability, to individuals. AI is not an organism, but its capabilities profile it for [communicative] equality with humans.
Does AI have more rights than others?
Where does AI stay? Data centers. Can the investments for data centers be compared with places animals are reared? AI, it seems, is fully and permanently employed. AI has healthcare or centers care. AI has executive security. AI, for now, cannot be bombed. Everyone wants AI [investments]. Humans are learning AI, to build and empower AI even more. AI is already making critical decisions in human lives. AI is not facing any cruelty case, at all. AI is serving humans in exchange for human dependency.
Animal Welfare
AI, it can be assumed already has close to 100% rights and welfare, even where humans do not. This means that AI has leaped animals on the queue towards rights and welfare. AI, many have said, is neither conscious nor sentient, but it became applicable to human priorities so, it found unprecedented attention, consideration and protection.
The suffering of animals, many of whom have been declared conscious or sentient, do not appear to matter as much or ever because they did not seem to have the effects, in mind and reality, that AI has, on humans. Animal’s roles in human affairs mostly appear like subordinates. There are rarely areas of acceptance of animals — in human societies — at near equal measures to prompt wider rights.
While there are laws against animal cruelty, they are often skewed to a few, while broad rights for most [under consideration] do not seem to apply. The fight against animal abuse endeavored, but with AI, there is a direct case to show what it would have taken, to make animals get treated in far better ways. Even with — as remote as — smartphones, the rights granted to them, by owners and by society seem ahead of other organisms, so to speak.
Also, as much as there is possibility to remodel the approach to animal welfare, it does not appear that theorizing that animals are fully sentient or conscious may seal the deal because of some continuous perceptions about animal use case, albeit they are living organisms.
Some people have also moved on to AI rights and welfare, trying to prove what is already obvious or give more to what already has. AI, even if no one makes the case for its own rights and welfare, can do it greatly and with evidence of its availability and utility.
Intelligence as the ultimate welfare evidence
Animals are intelligent, but their intelligence, though benefits humans, also benefit themselves, so there is sometimes a tug, for humans to extract benefits from them. AI is intelligent, but it benefits humans, almost totally. The pedestal for AI reception is because of the non-compete benefit to humanity resulting in intense welfare and rights status. Animals, even with similarities to humans in pain and pleasure do not get an automatic unlock, in deserved welfare, because they have to live or have their own agenda.
The biggest disadvantage, of animals, for their own welfare is that they cannot make the case for it by themselves. While they can at least resist and struggle, they cannot appeal to reason, emotion or whatever else to boost their case at the points of abuse or worse. This means that intelligence, of the range to make the case for welfare, is what it takes, mostly to have rights in human society.
AI can do this. People are doing so for AI. There are people doing as well for animals, but ultimately, animals experiencing it cannot express much.
Human Intelligence
Human Intelligence is the hardest thing on earth. It is the most difficult possession in the world. Intelligence is the difference in most things, most times. Intelligence is the secret. Moves [desired or advantageous] are made, by organisms, as directed by intelligence. An individual may have everything necessary for something but be unable to do anything with it without intelligence. Knowing and using what is known — as intelligence — is a marker of advance.
Human intelligence may need to be modeled in the era of AI, as a basis to restructure animal intelligence. A new human intelligence research lab could define the future as AI takes off. Maybe if human intelligence is defined and then animal intelligence, it could be possible to extract welfare and rights defense, in a future that AI may second place everything because of intelligence.
The future of animal rights and welfare is intelligence, to present the winning case. If there will ever be hope to achieve it, intelligence is the answer.
There is a recent [September 15, 2025] story on EURACTIV, Germany drops animal welfare scheme from federal budget, sparking backlash, stating that the decision, [is] “due to budgetary constraints.”
David Stephen currently does research in conceptual brain science with focus on the electrical and chemical configurators for how they mechanize the human mind with implications for mental health, disorders, neurotechnology, consciousness, learning, artificial intelligence and nurture. He was a visiting scholar in medical entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, IL. He did computer vision research at Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona.
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