Stunning photos show how an AI algorithm could help insect pollinators

THESE images document the beginnings of a spectacular and very special type of garden on the grounds of the Natural History Museum Berlin – and one that has come about by a far from typical means.

Artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg (below) worked with a range of experts to develop Pollinator Pathmaker, a garden-planning AI algorithm that is specifically designed to safeguard one of the world’s most important types of organism: insect pollinators.

With estimates that around three-quarters of flying insects have disappeared in some areas in the past 30 years, Ginsberg hopes to help slow their decline by using the algorithm to generate garden plans that maximise the number of different pollinators through carefully chosen plant species and arrangements.

The Natural History Museum Berlin’s garden, which was commissioned by non-profit group LAS Art Foundation, functions as both a living artwork and a spur to action for the public to plant their own pollinator-friendly gardens using the algorithm’s designs. When everything is completed and in bloom, the pollinator site in Berlin will cover 722 square metres and contain more than 7000 plants. It will remain in place until November 2026.

The first two images show digital renderings of the garden, generated by AI to give an idea of what it will look like once it is finished. They are based on Ginsberg’s own paintings. The third, fourth and fifth images show some of the installation process.