What AI Can’t Reach and What Nature Reveals
A child stands in a forest, headphones off, trying to identify a bird by its call alone. No app. No image search. No instant answer. Just the sound, and the uncertainty of not quite knowing yet.
This is a strange thing to protect on purpose. But it might be one of the most important things we can protect in a childhood full of instant answers.
What gets lost when answers arrive too easily
AI can tell a child exactly which bird is singing in under a second. That’s genuinely useful — but it also quietly removes something valuable: the feeling of not knowing yet. Researchers and educators call this edge-awareness — the ability to notice uncertainty, sit with a limit, and stay curious at the boundary of what you understand. It’s not really about the bird. It’s about what happens in the moment before the answer arrives, when a child is still guessing, listening harder, comparing what they hear to what they remember.
That in-between moment is where real thinking happens. And it’s exactly the moment AI is best at erasing.
Why nature is a good training ground for this
Nature doesn’t rush. A bird call repeats on its own schedule, not yours. A pattern in bark takes real looking to notice. Nothing about a forest optimises for a fast answer — which is precisely what makes it useful. Pairing AI with time in nature isn’t about avoiding technology; it’s about giving children (and adults) a place where shortcuts simply don’t work, so the slower, harder skill of noticing has room to develop.
This is the heart of biomimicry too — not asking “what’s the fast answer,” but “what is this actually doing, and why.” A child studying a bird call for its own sake is practising the same patient attention a biomimicry researcher uses studying a shell, a wing, or a root system.
A simple way to try this yourself
Next time you’re outside with a child, try going twenty minutes without pulling out a phone to identify anything. Let a bird stay unidentified. Let a leaf stay a mystery. Talk about what you notice instead of what you know. That discomfort — the itch to look it up — is exactly the thing worth sitting with.
We explored this same idea from a different angle in The Octopus’s Playground — curiosity-driven, unhurried exploration isn’t wasted time. It’s how real thinking gets built, in kids and octopuses alike.
This post grew out of a longer, more personal reflection on AI, self-knowledge, and the risk of outsourcing our own thinking — you can read the full essay, Cornered Into Coherence, on my Substack, Pursuit of Wonder.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is biomimicry?
Biomimicry is the practice of looking to nature for solutions, then applying what we learn to design and problem-solving. Instead of inventing from scratch, it means studying how plants, animals, and ecosystems have already solved a challenge — like staying cool, collecting water, or absorbing carbon — and adapting that strategy for human use.
How does biomimicry help address climate change?
Nature has been adapting to extreme conditions for billions of years, so many organisms already hold working solutions to problems we now face at a larger scale — cooling buildings without electricity (termite mounds), collecting water in drought (the Namib beetle), protecting coastlines from storms (mangrove roots), and capturing carbon (corals, forests, kelp). Biomimicry means studying those solutions and applying the same principles to human design.
How can children get involved in biomimicry?
Children don’t need special training to think like a biomimicrist — just curiosity and a habit of asking “how does nature solve this?” Simple ways to start include a backyard scavenger hunt for nature’s patterns, a “design-an-animal” challenge for a changing climate, or building a small model (like a passive-cooling structure or a water collector) inspired by something they’ve observed outdoors.
Is biomimicry only for scientists and engineers?
No — biomimicry is as much a mindset as a profession. Anyone can practice it by observing nature closely and asking design questions. Professional biomimicry practitioners apply it in architecture, materials science, and engineering, but the same core skill — careful observation followed by “what if we built it that way?” — is exactly what this post’s classroom and family activities are designed to build in children.
Åsa Jomård
In 2015, Åsa completed a course in Biomimicry: A Sustainable Design Methodology at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. With over 10 years of experience exploring nature for inspiration and as a former member of Ben, Biomimicry Education Network, she brings both academic background and creative teaching experience to her work. Her materials seamlessly integrate stories, nature observations, and design challenges, making them perfect for inquiry-led learning in early primary contexts.
AI was used as a Thinking Partner.