Ep. 39 Can we use AI to understand how horses feel? With Dr. Claire Ricci-Bonot

In this episode, we explore new research on using facial expressions and artificial intelligence to identify emotional states in horses, moving beyond pain detection to include states like anticipation, frustration, and disappointment with Dr Claire Ricci-Bonot. With models reaching around 76% accuracy, the findings highlight both the potential and the limitations of using technology to assess equine emotion and welfare. Dr Claire Ricci-Bonot is an academic researcher specialising in animal behaviour, cognition, and welfare, with a primary focus on horses at the University of Lincoln. Her work explores equine emotions, social relationships, and stress, including topics such as social buffering, separation issues, and the use of AI to identify emotional states in horses. You can read this paper here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0302893