Speakers
Environmental Ethics and Sustainability at Sea
Global shipping routes intersect with some of the ocean's most ecologically sensitive zones. Vessel operations continue to impose measurable biodiversity costs — from cetacean strike mortality to habitat degradation along high-traffic corridors. Artificial intelligence offers transformative potential for route optimisation, but embedding ecological constraints into algorithmic decision-making raises questions that are as ethical as technical.
Which species and geographies are well-represented in existing datasets, and which are invisible? What are the consequences of optimising on incomplete evidence? Whose biodiversity data gets trusted? What trade-offs between shipping efficiency and species protection are defensible? And when an AI-recommended route still causes harm, who is accountable — the researcher, the operator, or the regulator?
Based on preliminary PhD research, the author proposes an ethical framework for responsible AI deployment in vessel route optimisation and maritime biodiversity governance, sharing potential solutions and main challenges within data equity, algorithmic transparency, and the responsibilities of industry and academia translating ecological evidence into policy recommendations.
Angelina Spilnyk is a PhD researcher within the SustAI Centre for Doctoral Training, where her work sits at the intersection of sustainability, artificial intelligence, and marine governance. With an academic background in international public and maritime law, her research focuses on how digital systems can support biodiversity protection and strengthen legal accountability in marine environments. Her current PhD research explores the use of AI to automate and enhance compliance with marine environmental regulations, particularly in relation to the protection of marine species and habitats affected by shipping operations. She investigates how ecological and legal data can be integrated into real-time decision-support systems. By focusing on shipping corridors, her work aims to develop tools that proactively identify environmental risks and support more responsive, enforceable ocean governance.