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Will we ever be able to talk to animals?

2024-02-04 20:42:18Lifestyle SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Will we ever be able to talk to animals?
Will we ever be able to talk to animals?

Last December, the Whale SETI scientific team conducted a 20-minute conversation with a whale. The experiment, conducted off the coast of Alaska, involved reproducing the sounds produced by a whale trying to communicate through an underwater loudspeaker.

Dr. Brenda McOwan of the University of California, the lead author of the study, stated that this was "the first communication between humans and whales." The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has greatly increased the expectation regarding the achievement of complex communication with other species.

Because these technologies allow experts to analyze the sounds, movements and behaviors of animals with a speed and accuracy that would be impossible for humans. For the study in question, for example, this technology was found to be essential for decoding and reproducing whale calls.

The experts used advanced equipment to listen to and analyze recordings of the animals' sounds, which helped scientists discover patterns and changes in their communication, as well as changes in the tone of their calls and the way they produced sounds.

Kate Armstrong, director of the Interspecies Internet program, is convinced that in the future, we will be able to decipher and understand the language of different animal species with a high level of accuracy.

"In a sense, we are already doing this. The biggest challenge in compiling data on communication with other species is the presence of noise. Therefore, most studies have been conducted on species that live underwater, where it is easier to extract data. This technological advance brings with it the need to think carefully about how we use these tools. Also, we need to consider implementing regulations to ensure ethical and responsible use," she says.

But talking to an animal using their language has some limitations.

For example, the interaction with the whale was not a conversation in the human sense. So there was no exchange of ideas or complex understandings. Rather, it was an exchange of sounds that demonstrated that whales can respond in an intelligent and adaptive way to auditory cues.

The researchers interpreted this as evidence that whales can participate in some kind of "dialogue" using their audio communication system. Meanwhile, linguist Mamen Hornos questions whether it is really possible to translate thought between species.

Hornos argues that even if we share some experiences of reality with other animals, such as cause-effect relationships and spatial orientation, we don't know if they can understand deep human ideas. He mentions the famous aphorism of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein: "The limits of my language are the limits of my world".

This idea suggests that our way of seeing and understanding the world is closely related to our language. When it comes to human-animal communication, each species can be limited by its own linguistic and conceptual perception of the world. Communication between species can never be completely symmetrical or complete, as each species perceives and understands the world through its own linguistic and cognitive "lenses".

Before anyone believed that it was possible to decipher the language of whales, several scientists had already performed famous experiments in an attempt to teach the animals human language. For example, in 1966, just 3 years after the publication of the famous novel "Planet of the Apes", researchers Allen and Beatrix Gardner adopted a chimpanzee named Washoe, to observe the language abilities of primates.

They treated him as if he were a human child, and taught him how to communicate using American Sign Language, a method of communication used by deaf people. Washoe learned more than 350 signs, and could use them to form simple phrases and express ideas of some complexity.

In another case in 1977, researcher Irene Pepperberg worked with a parrot named Alex. She taught him more than 100 words, and Alex learned to recognize shapes, materials and numbers. He even invented a new way to say "apple" because he found the original word difficult to pronounce with his beak, which is designed to crack open nuts and seeds.

Dr. Pepperberg later recalled that Alex's last words to her before he died in his cage were: "You get well. I love you. See you tomorrow". But Hornos says that what prevents a highly intelligent animal, such as some apes, from being able to use human language in the same way that we do, is that they do not have a hierarchical understanding of language, but rather a linear understanding.

But some scientists argue that given that humans evolved from ancestors they share with other species, there must be a continuity or evolutionary relationship between our communication systems and those of other species.

But will our relationship with animals change in the future if we manage to understand their language? Armstrong says that one of the main goals of the Interspecies Internet project is that a better understanding of animal language will increase our sensitivity to them.

"Understanding the language of endangered species can give us valuable information when it comes to their conservation. For example, knowing what animals communicate to us about their threats or mating needs can help their caretakers make more informed decisions when it comes to protecting habitats and species.

According to the expert, as we better understand how animals communicate, we can better recognize and appreciate their intelligence and cognitive abilities, and change the way we view and treat them legally and socially.

Marta Amat Grau, head of the ethological service at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​says that progress in understanding animal language and communication is positively affecting our relationship with pets.

According to her, "many behavioral problems stem from a lack of understanding of how we communicate with dogs and cats." "Today, we have enough knowledge to interpret, for example, the meows of a cat or the barking of a dog. Especially when we analyze them in relation to their body language, and that can tell if they are experiencing anxiety or seeking attention," she explains.

In recent years, special applications have appeared to translate the sounds or behaviors of pets into a language more understandable to humans. However, Grau warns that most of these applications have no scientific basis./ El Pais


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