Priorities and Recommendations for Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Improve Equid Health and Welfare.

Area of Science:

• Equine Health and Welfare
• Artificial Intelligence Applications
• Animal Science

Background:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly utilized in equid health and welfare.
• Understanding stakeholder consensus is crucial for directing AI development effectively.
• Current equine welfare concerns include unmet ethological needs and suboptimal management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish consensus among stakeholders on the optimal development and application of AI for equid health and welfare.
• To identify key welfare concerns, priority areas for AI development, and barriers/solutions.
• To guide future research funding and AI tool development in equine science.

Main Methods:

• A workshop involving 41 stakeholders to generate initial statements.
• Delphi surveys with a 75% agreement threshold for consensus building.
• Analysis of statements covering welfare concerns, AI development, barriers, and solutions.

Main Results:

• 106 statements reached consensus, highlighting unmet ethological needs and poor management as primary welfare concerns.
• Insufficient owner/carer knowledge was identified as a significant contributing factor.
• Priority AI development areas include equid wellbeing assessment and individual/population-level monitoring.

Conclusions:

• Stakeholder consensus indicates AI can significantly benefit equid welfare.
• Barriers include limited understanding of equine behavior and AI, data issues, and validation challenges.
• Solutions involve developing evidence-based, unbiased AI, establishing best practices, regulation, and user education.