#rp26 speaker Frauke Fischer

The development of artificial intelligence requires vast amounts of energy, water, and raw materials. But what if it would not only harm our ecosystems, but actually help them? Biodiversity expert, entrepreneur and author Frauke Fischer is convinced about that. While human intelligence has already maneuvered us dangerously close to the brink of the sixth mass extinction, artificial intelligence could now help us prevent it from happening. At re:publica 2026, she will shed light on how this could actually work.

Nature is more than four billion years ahead of us humans in terms of technological achievements – whether it's processes such as pattern recognition, analysis, or information processing. Thanks to AI, we are now a little closer to catching up. We can analyze patterns in animal migration to predict disasters or assess the condition of a rainforest. But how does it actually work?

If you want to find out where AI is already being used to protect animal species, ecosystems, and nothing less than the basis of our existence, you will find answers in Frauke Fischer's book “Kann KI die Natur retten?” (Can AI save nature?). Together with economist Hilke Oberhansberg, the biodiversity expert discusses the latest findings in a humorous way. 

Frauke Fischer is a biologist, biodiversity expert, entrepreneur, author, and keynote speaker. Her studies took her from Frankfurt to the USA and then to the Ivory Coast. There, she investigated the effects of overhunting on kob antelopes in Comoé National Park in the northeast of the Ivory Coast and lead a research station. Back in Germany, she subsequently established “international nature conservation” as an independent field of study. A year later, she founded the agency auf!, Germany's first management consultancy focusing on biodiversity. As an author, she has published several non-fiction books, including “Was hat die Mücke je für uns getan?” (What has the mosquito ever done for us?) and “Wal macht Wetter – wie Biodiversität unser Klima rettet” (Whales make the weather – how biodiversity saves our climate). She is also a member of several renowned committees, including the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and the Species Survival Commission, as well as an advisor to WWF, Volkswagen, and business circles. Since 2025, she has been writing for the Frankfurter Rundschau and her podcast tierisch! (animalistic) is published weekly.