'Google translate for animals': Scientists unlock secrets to zoological language

Australian Community Media

Using AI technology, scientists are beginning to map and understand the way animals talk, with the hopes of one day being able to speak human-to-animal.

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:08 Speak!

00:09 Hi there!

00:09 [Gasp]

00:10 Did that dog just say "Hi there"?

00:14 Oh yes!

00:14 [Bark]

00:15 [Music]

00:24 It is in the realm of possibility, although not yet achieved,

00:28 that one day we could have a zoological version of Google Translate.

00:33 So imagine, in addition to German or English, Cantonese or Cree,

00:38 you might have an option for Southern Australian Dolphin,

00:42 East African Elephant, or Sperm, Waelish.

00:47 The last ever dolphin message was misinterpreted

00:50 as a surprisingly sophisticated attempt to do a double backward somersault

00:53 through a hoop while whistling the Star Spangled Banner.

00:56 But in fact, the message was this.

00:58 So long, and thanks for all the fish.

01:01 [Music]

01:16 So it turns out there's a lot of communication in nature,

01:19 and different species are actually talking to one another.

01:22 One of my favorite examples is pollinators and plants.

01:26 So honeybees, if you play the frequency of a buzzing honeybee near a flower,

01:32 it will respond by producing more nectar and sweeter nectar.

01:36 Plants emit very high ultrasound,

01:39 and that ultrasound will vary depending on whether they are dehydrated,

01:42 or they're stressed, or they're healthy.

01:44 Sounds that insects can hear,

01:46 and actually AI algorithms can be trained to listen to plants

01:51 and indicate, simply by listening, what state the plant is in, healthy or not.

01:56 [Music]

02:20 Turtles are very patient conversationalists.

02:23 They might wait a minute or two before responding.

02:25 Baby turtles of this species make noise in their eggs before they hatch.

02:32 They're coordinating the moment of their birth with a specific acoustic signal.

02:37 And not only that, the mother turtles are waiting in the water,

02:42 calling to their babies, and then guiding them to safety in the forest,

02:45 away from predators.

02:46 And this has been determined using biologgers and drones.

02:50 Sweet!

02:51 Totally.

02:52 [Music]

03:00 The famous mating dance you think of as a visual display,

03:04 the peacock is actually giving a rock concert.

03:08 That tail is an acoustic resonator.

03:10 It makes very loud infrasound.

03:13 We cannot hear it.

03:14 The female peahens can.

03:17 And the realm of nature's hidden sounds,

03:19 this was only known, this was only discovered about 10 years ago.

03:23 Although, of course, we've lived with and known about peacocks for millennia.

03:27 Cool! What do these do, boys?

03:29 [Speaking in Japanese]

03:30 I use that color.

03:32 [Speaking in Japanese]

03:33 To talk with.

03:34 I would be happy if you stopped.

03:35 [Music]

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