Scientists have been able to communicate directly with whales using AI technology!

Environmental scientists have successfully communicated with a humpback whale using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which is considered a significant advancement in 21st-century science. Since 2022, a team of scientists from the University of California, Davis, and the Alaska Whale Foundation has been conducting this research under the Whale-SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) initiative. In this new experimental study, for the first time, AI technology was used to communicate directly with a humpback whale.

By employing advanced artificial intelligence, scientists used the whale's own language to communicate with it, recognizing it as the largest animal on Earth. To do this, they previously recorded a set of "conversations" or communication signals among a group of humpback whales. Using these recorded sounds, the scientists were able to communicate effectively for 20 minutes with a humpback whale named 'Twain.'

However, it is quite astonishing that this humpback whale responded to the researchers and began to swim around their ship floating on the sea. The scientists were truly taken aback by the close communication established with the whale. This intimate communication may help in understanding the language or communication signals of all animals in the near future, which scientists hope will play a crucial role in the conservation of other endangered species.

Meanwhile, a whale biologist named Gero from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, has spent nearly 20 years studying how whales communicate. During that time, he learned that whales produce specific sounds in different situations that identify them as members of a family. Additionally, whales residing in various ocean regions have their own dialects, just as people from different parts of the world communicate among themselves. In the same way, whales can maintain communication with each other.

Although they inhabit the sea, whales are highly intelligent and social creatures. Their brains are relatively large and advanced compared to their body size. By communicating with them, researchers can better understand their intellectual traits and behaviors. This experience might even help scientists develop new methods or techniques for communicating with highly advanced alien civilizations that may exist in the vast universe.

The humpback whale, which has a highly diverse lifestyle, can typically reach lengths of up to 60 feet and weigh over 40 tons. Scientifically, this whale is known as Megaptera novaeangliae. Moreover, humpback whales travel long distances across the ocean, migrating over 5,000 miles from feeding grounds to breeding areas.

However, it is disheartening to acknowledge that if communication with these massive ocean animals becomes possible in the near future, there is a significant risk that it could lead to more catastrophic outcomes rather than positive ones. It is conceivable that powerful nations may begin to use this gentle marine creature for surveillance or direct military purposes against enemy countries, aided by artificial intelligence technology.

Currently, many developed countries train dolphins for covert surveillance and some combat missions. If nations perceive these gentle creatures, known for their peaceful nature, as spies for enemy countries, they may indiscriminately start hunting whales, leading to their rapid extinction from the Earth. Additionally, the concern regarding the use of this newly developed AI communication technology for hunting whales or other animals in the near future cannot be dismissed.

Source: Earth.com, Oceanographics, Nature, BBC.

Sherazur Rahman, Teacher and Writer, Singra, Natore, Bangladesh. sherazbd@gmail.com