As artificial intelligence and digital technologies accelerate the mobilization of natural history collections, a global team of scientists is calling for a new ethical framework: ethical collectomics. In a groundbreaking study published in BioScience, researchers warn that without fairness, transparency, and inclusive collaboration, AI-driven biodiversity research risks deepening historical inequalities.
Natural history collections - home to millions of preserved plants, animals, fossils, and other specimens - are being digitized at an unprecedented pace. These resources, vital for tackling climate change, conservation, food security, and disease discovery, were often assembled during colonial eras, with biological material taken from the Global South and stored in institutions in the Global North. The authors emphasize that today’s digital transformation must not repeat past injustices. They advocate for ethical mobilization—ensuring equitable access, recognizing Indigenous and local knowledge, sharing benefits fairly, and investing in scientific capacity in biodiversity-rich countries. Success stories like Brazil’s REFLORA and the African Plants Portal demonstrate how digital repatriation can empower local researchers. Yet threats remain: climate disasters, war, and underfunding endanger physical collections—evident in the destruction of Brazil’s National Museum and Ukrainian herbaria.
The message is clear: natural history collections are humanity’s shared biohistorical heritage. To protect and harness them responsibly in the Anthropocene, we must embrace ethical collectomics—where technology serves justice, collaboration, and the planet.
Original publication:
Frankiewicz, K.E., Giraldes Simões, A.R., Grenda-Kurmanow, M., Engelhardt, A., Shiyan, N.M., Mosyakin, S.L., Pace, M.R., Jaramillo, M.A., Magee, A.R., Muasya, A.M., Perez-Escobar, O.A., Marcati, C.R., Muñoz-García, M., Sotto Podadera, D., Gebauer, S. (2026) Ethical collectomics: A guide to the responsible and fair mobilization of natural history collections, BioScience, 2026;, biag069, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biag069.
