AI deciphers the animal kingdom

Artificial intelligence is being used to better understand our friends in the animal kingdom. University of Michigan researchers are using AI to decode the vocalizations of dogs, studying whether their barks convey aggression or playfulness. Interestingly, the researchers are using speech models originally trained on human speech to find patterns and better understand how they’re communicating. Similarly, an initiative called Project CETI is using machine learning to learn more about how sperm whales communicate with another.

Part of the challenge of each is gathering enough good data to study animal populations. The whale team is even using drones and underwater microphones to collect the data they need, while the canine researchers used at-home recordings made by dog owners in Mexico.

AI could also help animals in another crucial way: Academics believe that AI can reduce the need for testing on animals for pharmaceutical and other purposes. The hope is that it could pull better insights out of existing data and reduce redundancy and the need for unnecessary new tests. In that way, AI could really help ameliorate the harm that we inflict upon animal populations.