Inscentinel Ltd is a small UK biotechnology company specialising in harnessing the olfactory ability of insects for trace vapour detection. In particular, they train bees to recognise specific odours (e.g. that of explosives) and associate that smell with a food reward. When the bees detect the odour, they extend their tongue in expectation of food. As the picture below shows, the poor bees are strapped to some contraption that is inserted into a box (see above), in which image recognition software monitors and records detection effort by the bees, converting their response into an electronic form. This electronic output can be given in a simple yes/no, green light/red light form.The bees supposedly feel totally comfortable.I wonder whether humans would make the same comment about their state of wellbeing feel if bees strap us up in this way and wait for Pavlovian responses. I always find it astonishing though, how we arrive at conclusions about other creatures like the one above, given that we haven’t got the faintest idea about how they really experience their world. But this or course is not just another demonstration of our ignorance, but also for how we exploit all life forms to simply serve us, and how little or no respect we have for their existence.
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