Cyborg Companions: Reimagining Animal-AI Relations within Posthuman Ecologies in Wild Robot and Beyond

In the last decade, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based technologies have seen significant developments, such as in-situ social integration of robots as links between bio-hybrid systems or the computational decoding of acoustic signals produced by animals such as elephants.Such advancements have demonstrated significant efficacy in transforming animal productivity and management across diverse species, while simultaneously deepening our understanding of collective animal behaviour.Consequently, these AI-integrated developments have catalysed a marked departure from anthropocentric design, leading towards a re-examination of animal welfare through prioritisation of interspecies reciprocity and animal-centric autonomy.The 2024 DreamWorks animated film, Wild Robot, is a prime example of this reconfigured animal agency within a posthuman environment.This paper juxtaposes the film's narrative with empirical developments in the integrated fields of AI and animal studies.Utilising the film's demonstration of rich emotional and intellectual exchanges between a superintelligent robot, Roz, and the natural world around her, this article investigates the complex dynamics of nonhuman animal-AI interaction.This work draws upon the seminal ideas of posthumanist theorists such as Vinciane Despret, who advocates transcending anthropocentric binaries, in addition to Katherine Barad's concept of intra-action and Donna Haraway's notion of 'becoming-with'.By positioning posthumanist theory as the conceptual bridge between the film's narrative and scientific inquiry, this paper argues that speculative fiction functions as a visionary companion to empirical research.This article demonstrates how the diegetic universe of Wild Robot articulates unique AI-animal ecological possibilities.This work concludes that both animals and AI, which are commonly objectified within human-centric paradigms, hold the potential to evolve into the co-existing companions in a posthuman world.