American scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology deciphered the phonetic alphabet of sperm whales using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The research was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature Communications (NatComms).
Whales communicate with a series of short clicks that resemble codes. Experts analyzed more than 9,000 similar codes collected during research on Eastern Caribbean sperm whale families.
Using a neural network, scientists compiled a type of sperm whale alphabet for which they identified features such as “rhythm,” “tempo,” “ornamentation,” and “rubato” (tempo change). In the speech of sperm whales, these parameters interact, creating a large number of different combinations depending on the context of the speech, changing the duration of the signals or adding “decorative” clicks to their expressions.
The researchers also found that sperm whales can use a broader repertoire of vocalizations by combining key elements of their code.
Experts noted that deciphering the language of sperm whales could lay the foundation for communication with representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations, as it makes it possible to create algorithms for understanding completely different communication systems.
Previous scientists I learnedthat different sperm whale clans speak different “languages.”
What are you thinking?
Source: Gazeta
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