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Powerwash Simulator and many more: why we like boring busywork in our games
by Rainer Etzweiler
How AI is used to decode animal languages
23.11.2023
Translation: Megan Cornish
An app that lets us talk to dogs, translation tools that decode whale songs or systems that translate the dance of a honey bee into human language. Artificial intelligence opens up new possibilities for understanding animal languages. Let’s explore the extent of current research and development and where there are potential risks.
In the future, could we use artificial intelligence to ask our guinea pig what its mood is and what it thinks about us and the world? Well, we can’t expect philosophical conversations with rodents, but part of humanity’s long-held dream of «talking to animals» seems like it might be possible in the future.
AI and machine learning as the key to communication
What researchers, behavioural biologists, animal trainers and other animal lovers have been trying to do for a long time is now within reach thanks to machine learning and artificial intelligence. Attempts have long been made to teach animals human language in various ways. Be it through sign language or picture boards, the research has sometimes gained remarkable insights – but the laborious attempts remained isolated examples and rarely made it beyond a few words.
Washoe, the signing chimpanzee
One of the most impressive examples of communication with animals came from the Washoe Project, which began in 1966. Psychologist and anthropologist Roger Fouts trained young chimpanzee Washoe in American Sign Language (ASL) and later described his experiences in the book Next Of Kin.
Washoe learned several hundred signs and was able to communicate well by independently beginning to combine individual words to create sentences. She also passed on what she had learned to her adopted son and talked to other signing apes in ASL.
There were other examples of teaching human language to apes. There was Koko, a gorilla who learned a modified form of sign language and used it to successfully communicate with people. And Kanzi, a bonobo who partially understands spoken English and communicates using a picture board containing 300 lexigrams.
But these attempts to teach monkeys human language from an anthropocentric world view aren’t only ethically controversial looking through a modern lens. Statements about an animal’s ability to learn aren’t the same as statements about its understanding of what has been learned.
Understanding animal languages and learning to «speak»
Now rapid technological advances are enabling a new approach. Instead of trying to teach animals human language, researchers around the world are decoding different animal languages. The aim is to understand how animals communicate with each another and then to «speak» to them in the animal’s language. This is a zoocentric approach.
The Earth Species project: using AI to decode non-human language
The Earth Species project brings together different approaches with a common goal: to communicate with animals in their own language. And this doesn’t always just mean making sounds.
Depending on the animal species, there are very different approaches, many of which also integrate body language, which is how many species exchange information. For example, among other things, bees communicate using complex dances, which they can use to describe routes to food sources. Besides barking, dogs also use posture and facial expressions to communicate. Even the songs of many bird species involve sophisticated communication systems that need to be deciphered.
The Earth Species project aims to decode this non-human communication using AI. The non-profit organisation brings together researchers from various disciplines who believe that understanding these languages will transform our relationship with the rest of nature.
CETI: understanding the language of whales
In the video, CETI founder David Gruber explains how the project came about and which system will be used to decode the language of sperm whales:
Zoolingua: a translation app for dogs
Similar to the CETI project, «Zoolingua» also aims to use new technologies to create understanding and the means to talk to animals. The project is still in its early stages and is initially focusing on one species: dogs.
The foundation of this idea is based on the work of Dr Con Slobodchikoff, an animal behaviourist and conservation biologist. He has been studying the social behaviour and communication systems of prairie dogs since the mid-1980s. Through sophisticated experiments, he decoded the structure and meaning of the animals’ alarm calls. He showed that animals have language that suits their needs, just as our language suits ours.
The intended result of the current research is an app that translates dogs’ facial expressions, vocalisations and actions into language. To do this, people film their dog when they notice that it wants to communicate something. The video is then uploaded via the app and analysed by AI, which then reveals what the dog wants to say.
In the video below, Dr Slobodchikoff explains what «Zoolingua» aims to achieve:
A dancing bee robot can reveal the way to food
In the video below, you can see the dancing bee robot and find out more about the research:
Speaking animal languages with AI: possibilities, limitations and concerns
Header image: Aleksey Boyko/Shutterstock
Anna Sandner
Senior Editor
Anna.Sandner@galaxus.deScience editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always the outdoors - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.
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