We could soon be having two-way conversations with animals like Dr Dolittle, all thanks to the invention of several machines.
Scientists have created various bits of tech that can use AI to discern what animals are saying, who they are communicating with, and in some cases, even which creatures are speaking.
Dr Yossi Yovel and his team from Tel Aviv University, Israel, used ultrasonic frequency detectors to “translate” the communicative noises of bats.
He said the discovery was “like a miracle, like magic”.
He explained how bats emit mixed-frequency signals that echo off the surroundings and while they had been known to eavesdrop on others, with the help of AI humans could do so on them.
Dr Yovel said: “Machine learning can revolutionise our understanding of animal communication. “
Dr Natalie Uomini, a cognitive scientist, is conducting similar research on the New Caledonian crow.
She hopes the AI she is using will soon be able to discern which crow said what, and to whom.
She said: “Whatever the individual features are in the voice they’re probably similar to how humans can tell each other apart.”
Meanwhile, Linda Erb of the Dolphin Research Centre in Florida, has crafted a keyboard-like machine to talk to the mammals.
Her team were amazed when the dolphins started emulating the signals, making the sound for “ball” that their keyboard made when coming across one, and even combining words to ask for things such as belly rubs.
