AI Can’t Make Nature | Pedro Marques | TEDxUniversity of Montana Western

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As artificial intelligence reshapes our world, conservation leader Pedro Marques argues that our greatest resource isn't technology—it's our connection to the land and the people who know it best. Drawing from a career in ecological restoration, he explores how local knowledge, stewardship, and a deeper relationship with nature can help us build a more resilient future. Sponsored by the Fund for Experience One, our conference provides a multidisciplinary forum for academic minds to gather and exchange ideas worth sharing. Speakers selected to present at TEDx University of Montana Western are directly connected to the local community or have topics that support Montana Western’s mission and values. TEDx University of Montana Western showcases the diversity and academic fortitude of our institution while providing a venue for speakers to submit their research to a global network. This conference was filmed in front of a live audience on March 21, 2026 in the Beier Auditorium. Learn more about TEDxUniversity of Montana Western by visiting www.umwestern.edu/tedx-umw/ or www.umwestern.edu. Pedro’s childhood dream of being a biologist died early in his first semester of college after a few weeks of heredity studies looking at fruit flies under a microscope. 3-years later in a religion course exploring the ethics of place, he realized he didn’t feel connected to any specific land or water, an epiphany that launched a 25-year career in ecology and conservation. From Panama to Montana, Pedro has been restoring degraded lands and working with rural and marginalized communities making a living at the interface of natural systems. He has led the Big Hole Watershed Committee since 2019, a consensus-based conservation organization governed by local stakeholders whose livelihoods depend on the health of the Big Hole River. Leveraging partnerships and ecological sciences, he has put millions of dollars of restoration projects on the ground in the Big Hole and led the restoration of a Superfund site along the Continental Divide. He lives in Missoula with his wife and two kids. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx