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Scientists Have Reported a Breakthrough In Understanding Whale Language (www.vice.com)

submitted 11 months ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Scientists Have Reported a Breakthrough In Understanding Whale Language::Researchers have identified new elements of whale vocalizations that they propose are analogous to human speech, including vowels and pitch.

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[-] balder1991@lemmy.world 110 points 11 months ago

Not only did the AI predict elements of whale vocalizations already thought to be meaningful, such as clicks, but it also singled out acoustic properties.

This is an amazing use of machine learning models.

[-] SuckMyWang@lemmy.world 65 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Can’t wait for them to tell us to stop being fuckheads and ruining the planet

[-] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 35 points 11 months ago

"So long and thanks for all the fish"

[-] umbrella@lemmy.ml 23 points 11 months ago

"end capitalism"

[-] voluble@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago

NOC's vocalizations were recorded and studied by a team of biologists from the National Marine Mammal Foundation (NMMF) led by Sam Ridgway. In 1984, Ridgway and others at the NMMF began to hear peculiar sounds coming from the whale and dolphin enclosure. They were reminiscent of two people talking in the distance, the words just beyond the limit of comprehension.[5] Later, a diver working in the enclosure came to the surface after he heard someone cry "out, out, out!"[1] After he asked his colleagues "Who told me to get out?", they realized it had been NOC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOC_(whale)

[-] JustZ@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

That was a trip.

[-] BestBouclettes@jlai.lu 7 points 11 months ago

"the whales are communists, kill them all"

[-] umbrella@lemmy.ml 4 points 11 months ago

we already are lol

[-] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The Orcas seem to have already started.

[-] SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone 45 points 11 months ago

Imagine if we managed to make a translator for the speech of an animal, knowing what they say and being able to say something back. Literally speaking with animals. That would have been so amazing and revolutionizing.

[-] MyDogLovesMe@lemmy.world 24 points 11 months ago

Honestly? We’d just fuck it all up, and find some way to exploit it.

If they could, the first words they speak to us would likely be akin to “Fuck you!”, or “Just what the fuck exactly is wrong with you people?”

[-] Haggunenons@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

Yeah, exploitation like this is a big concern in the digital bioacoustics community with groups like Earth Species Project.

[-] JustZ@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

You saying this group is good or bad? It would certainly be transformative to hear what the animals are saying, an ancient fantasy of humankind, magic.

[-] Haggunenons@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

So far as I know they are great, I mean it is a concern of theirs. They do some cool stuff, they have a fairly active discord with quite a bit in it.

[-] Yearly1845@reddthat.com 10 points 11 months ago

"Do you think the human chattering means anything?"

First translation

[-] Haggunenons@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Here is an elephant translator:

https://www.helloinelephant.com/

I dont think its great or anything, a bit of a gimmick. Really, the most decoded animal language is probably prairie dogs, but I've not heard of anyone trying to make a translator for it.

this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2023

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