In the article “Humans May Be Shockingly Close to Decoding the Language of Animals” by Tim Newcomb, published in Popular Mechanics on January 27, 2023, the author writes about people’s attempts to communicate with animals using AI. I think this technology has a lot of potential to change things in a positive way. Being able to communicate with animals would allow humans to warn animals of danger, help pet owners, and even help us to relate to animals as individuals. 

Warning animals can help us reduce accidents and increase safety. One example could be informing whales that boats are coming to avoid collisions. Similarly, drivers could also use this technology to communicate with wildlife on the road so they can move out of the way. We can also use this technology to listen to what animals want to communicate with us. Animals could even warn us about earthquakes and tsunamis because they have heightened senses. In search and rescue, instead of having dogs find people we could use certain snakes which can see heat to find people. A snake might be able to detect someone a dog would miss. 

Another way that people could use the technology is when someone takes their pet to the vet. People could ask where an animal is hurting or what else may be wrong. It would make it a lot easier to identify what’s happening. Owners would not waste money on needless visits and they would also be better able to know when their pets need medical attention. 

One other use of this technology is getting to know animals personally. Not being able to talk to animals means you can’t relate to them very deeply. I have pet quails, but I cannot empathize with them in a meaningful way. I can see differences in their personalities, but not much. If I could communicate with animals, I would want to ask them what they want to do, if they have any specific cravings for food, and if they are comfortable. I would want to know what to name them – or if they have names they’ve given themselves. 

I think this technology has a lot of helpful applications. While it might not affect my life very much, I feel it is worth pursuing. I imagine achieving the goal is pretty far away because all animals communicate differently. There also may be a few that are not intelligent enough to communicate with at all. 

Article Title: Humans May Be Shockingly Close to Decoding the Language of Animals

Article Author: Tim Newcomb

Article URL: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a42689511/humans-could-decode-animal-language/