Sperm whale speech – with ‘alphabet’ – is decoded. What other animals can AI translate?

An endangered sperm whale discovered March 9, 2024, off Venice, Florida. With the help of AI, the research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology analysed data from 8,719 sperm whale ‘codas’ – clusters of clicks – collected by recording whales in the Caribbean. — Venice, Florida Municipal Government/TNS

For years, scientists have listened to the clicks of sperm whales and wondered what they were saying.

While previous research scratched the surface of understanding, a new study – published May 7 in the journal Nature Communications – uses machine learning to pinpoint specific patterns in their speech.