Artificial intelligence could one day allow humans to hold conversations with elephants, whales and other animals, according to researchers exploring the patterns hidden in their calls.
The prospect is examined by Professor Hannah Fry in an episode of her BBC2 documentary series, The Future With Hannah Fry, which looks at growing efforts to understand animal communication and the possibility of responding in ways animals might recognise.
Among the most striking evidence comes from Kenya, where Dr Lucy King of the Save The Elephants foundation has studied how elephants react to African honey bees. The insects can attack in swarms and pursue their targets for up to a quarter of a mile, prompting elephant families to retreat when they hear buzzing.
Farmers are using the animals’ fear of bees to reduce conflict as agricultural communities expand into areas occupied by wild elephants. Beehives are being placed along fences around fields, protecting crops while providing farmers with a source of so-called “elephant-friendly honey”.
By recording elephants as they respond to bees, Dr King isolated a low-frequency rumble that humans cannot hear but elephants can detect from miles away. The call appears to carry a specific meaning: a warning about bees.
Scientists believe such findings could eventually help computers interpret animal sounds and, potentially, allow humans to send meaningful messages back. The same approach could be applied to creatures ranging from whales to birds, although major obstacles remain.
Animal calls and the search for meaning
Research highlighted by Professor Fry suggests that animal communication may be more complex than previously understood. Prairie dogs use squeaks to describe the appearance of approaching predators, while budgerigars appear to use sounds resembling consonants and vowels.
On the Californian coast, biologist Caroline Casey has spent more than a decade studying elephant seals. She has identified distinctive calls among the giant males, with some sounding like bass drums and others like bongos.
Dr Casey believes the seals may be announcing their own names, alerting females and warning rival males. “We don’t know if they learn their names or if they’re born with them,” she says.
If the theory is correct, it would suggest that elephant seals recognise themselves and one another as individuals – an ability psychologists associate with a “theory of mind”.
Communication has also been observed in domestic animals. Professor Fry meets Cache, a five-year-old golden retriever in California whose owner, Christina Lee, uses an electronic board covered with buttons carrying English words.
Cache can signal requests such as “walk”, “play” and “bone”, and can combine buttons to produce phrases including “Want food” and “Mom love you”. The dog can also indicate when he feels unwell by selecting “sick”.
The technique is known as augmentative interspecies communication. It does not depend on artificial intelligence: Koko, a gorilla who died in 2018, learned more than 100 words in American Sign Language and created descriptions for unfamiliar objects by combining signs she already knew.
A hairbrush became a “scratch comb”, while a ring was a “finger bracelet”. Koko described herself as a “fine person gorilla” and, when asked about death, replied: “Trouble old… comfortable hole bye… sleep.”
The limits of translating animal language
Humpback whales produce songs lasting more than an hour, and their music is passed between individuals, changing and developing from year to year. Birds use song to establish territory and attract mates, but researchers are still uncertain what other calls may communicate.
Developing computer systems capable of decoding these sounds is complicated by the lack of recorded material. Chatbots have been trained on vast collections of written human language, whereas no comparable archive exists for animal calls.
Even if computers identify the patterns behind whale songs or elephant rumbles, scientists caution that broadcasting messages in animal languages could cause confusion or distress. One researcher suggests that a “Geneva Convention for Cross-Species Communication” may be needed to prevent irresponsible use of the technology.
For pet owners, however, communication already appears to exist in a simpler form. A 2021 study found that the average dog understands nearly 90 words, while cats are thought to recognise up to 50. The tone used by owners may matter more than the precise words, with a gentle and affectionate voice helping to strengthen bonding.
The Future With Hannah Fry is on Wednesday at 7.30pm on BBC2.
