Karen Bakker [iPhone]

She passed away in August 2023, shortly after delivering a powerful TED Talk on the prospects of deciphering animal communication. Her colleagues and students remember her as a scholar who was "insatiably curious about Earth’s long-term future" and who believed that by learning to listen, we might finally learn to cohabitate.

Early in her career, Bakker established herself as a leading voice in environmental policy, particularly regarding water security and the "Privatization of Water". A with a DPhil from Oxford and a professor at the University of British Columbia, she was recognized as one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 for her work alerting the public to dwindling freshwater resources. karen bakker

Her story is one of relentless curiosity, moving from a focus on global water crises to a visionary exploration of how Artificial Intelligence could allow humans to "listen" to the hidden conversations of animals and plants. From Water Governance to Bioacoustics She passed away in August 2023, shortly after

Bakker's final work, Gaia's Web , was published posthumously in 2024. It explored the concept of "digital environmentalism," arguing that while technology can be used for surveillance, it also offers a way to regenerate the Earth and cultivate deep empathy for non-human species. A with a DPhil from Oxford and a

(1971–2023) was a transformative Canadian researcher, author, and entrepreneur who dedicated her life to bridge the gap between human technology and the natural world .