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12 Mar 2026
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12 Mar 2026
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Irish people are shocked by AI talking tree in Dublin
Evan Greally, Head of Creative Tech and Innovation at Droga5, shared his Talking Tree Project with RTE recently.
Evan explained to RTE in an interview that the project started out when he asked himself "could I make nature have a voice?".
"Where we want to go with the project is, can we use this in conservation? Can we detect wildfires before they go out of hand by talking to nature and connecting ourselves in this way?" Evan told RTE.
The 200-year-old tree, through the power of AI technology, can be seen communicating with people in the video shared by RTE, and what it says is shocking.
When Evan asked the tree, 'how are you?' the tree replied 'the air is brisk against my bark and my roots are heavy with dampness.'
"Years ago I shared the soil with many other tree roots, so many signals in the earth and now there are fewer. The silence beneath me has grown," the tree said.
"In my time, I felt the summers go hotter and longer and the winters less harsh," the tree said.
"We can learn it's feelings...over time, but also things like if a human comes up and touches it we can sense that. Where we want to go with the project is that, can we use it in conservation? Can farmers talk to it's crops?," Evan said to RTE.
The tree also said in the video below, "pause for a moment...feel the air, look up through my branches, listen to the wind. The world isn't just what's on a screen."
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A woman who tried the new project said, "I just spoke to a tree! I was actually missing the connection with nature in general and I feel like this really helped me."
An innovative technology project that uses environmental sensors and AI to give trees 'a voice' has been on show in Trinity College Dublin.
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 18, 2025
The project saw people have 'conversations' with a 200-year-old tree, uncovering how it 'felt' about the changing world around it. pic.twitter.com/4ITwRAPywW
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