Feb 25, 2025 Communicating with Animals
Numerous predictions exist about the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on various aspects of human life. One significant area where AI is already making a difference is language translation. It is being used for everything from providing subtitles for video productions to helping tourists communicate in foreign countries. Additionally, AI has transformed the translation of ancient texts.
Notably, AI was recently employed to decipher ancient papyrus scrolls that were buried in the ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Hundreds of burnt papyrus scrolls found in a luxury Roman villa in Herculaneum have been excavated, but they are too fragile to unroll. High-resolution synchrotron scans of the scrolls have revealed the letters written on them, enabling researchers to read the content without unwrapping them. As a result of this innovative work, three computer-savvy students won $700,000 from the Vesuvius Challenge.
With the advancements in AI translation technologies, it’s not surprising that there are ongoing efforts to use AI to understand animal communication and potentially “talk” back to them. The Earth Species Project was launched in 2018 to explore how AI techniques can be employed to decode non-human communication. Since then, several projects have investigated the communication of cetaceans (whales and dolphins), elephants, crows, and parrots. Research has shown that cetaceans and elephants have specific names for one another, while studies indicate that parrots learn their names from their parents and can also communicate directly with humans in our language.
Chaucer, an African Grey parrot, was trained by his human companion to understand that biting was unacceptable. Parrots have very powerful beaks and can cause serious injury to a person’s finger. Each morning when Chaucer woke up, he would remind himself of this behavioral rule by repeatedly saying “no-nips” to himself!
While parrots have learned to communicate with humans using human language, research is ongoing to decipher how other creatures communicate with one another. Sixty years ago, Roger and Katy Payne recorded the sounds made by humpback whales, captivating the world with their songs. It has been claimed that these whale songs ultimately contributed to the global moratorium against whaling. If the communication of whales had such a significant impact, what might occur if we could understand and communicate with elephants (a project initiated by Roger Payne’s wife, Katy), crows, or any other animal species? Understanding what animals are expressing could not only provide insight into what it’s like to be a whale or an elephant but could also fundamentally change human behavior toward communicating creatures.
Humpback Whale calf with mom | Credit: BlackBoxGuild, iStock
Last year, the Earth Species Project announced that it received a $10 million grant from the Aphorism Foundation and an additional $7 million grant from Laureen Jobs’ Waverley Street Foundation. Since its founding in 2018, the organization has grown rapidly, and these two grants will significantly enhance its ability to investigate animal communication and language. While humans have long been fascinated by the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence and communication, attention is now shifting towards understanding communication with the creatures on Earth.
Studies of whale songs have revealed patterns that resemble those found in human language. However, scientists involved in the whale song research caution that they still have a limited understanding of the “meaning” behind these songs. They also note that while language has traditionally been viewed as a “hallmark of human uniqueness, it may turn out that fundamental aspects of language are shared across different species.”
Video credit: bensib, iStock