The dolphin you’re about to see isn’t real, but the plight of these mammals is. There are thousands of cetaceans living in captivity. In confined spaces, they experience stress, anxiety, and depression, which can lead to self-harming behaviour and death. Though their distress has been widely publicised, the practice of keeping whales and dolphins in entertainment parks and aquariums persists. One of the most common justifications is that it contributes to education, research, and raising awareness. But what if there was a different way?
At the intersection of art and technology, Roger Holzberg and his team at Edge Innovations are transforming our encounters with marine life. Their robot dolphins can engage with audiences in theme parks and provide the same level of interaction and excitement a real animal would. Holzberg is creating a future where animals don’t have to suffer in captivity for people to learn to appreciate them. “Our technology will enable us to create characters that people fall in love with,” Holzberg says. “Because ultimately, we don’t hurt what we love.”
Up Next in Season 1
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David Ramsden
David Ramsden had always been interested in flight. As a child, he’d gaze up at the clouds, marvel at flying creatures, and keep an eye out for airplanes overhead. That interest developed into a passion for birds, barn owls in particular. Today, Ramsden is the head of conservation for The Barn Ow...
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Gautam Shah
Can digital gaming reset the devastation we’ve inflicted on the natural world? Gautam Shah believes so. He’s a game developer creating virtual experiences for people to protect the Earth and learn about real-life conservation stories. “It’s important for people to see conservation as accessible i...
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Tatiana Espinosa
Forest engineer Tatiana Espinosa leads the Arbio Peru project , a proposal for forest conservation in one of the most deforested regions in the country, which has earned her international recognition.
