Decoding Communication in Nonhuman Species 2023

In June, CETI hosted the second annual Decoding Communication in Nonhuman Species II conference at the University of California, Berkeley (US Berkeley).

Ten presenters from institutions including Northwestern, Hunter College, and UC Berkeley, came together to discuss the themes of evolving AI technologies, nonhuman communication, and nonhuman social networks. Through these conversations, presenters identified significant challenges and opportunities in understanding our nonhuman counterparts and promoting scientific knowledge and advocacy.

Over a two day period, speakers presented fascinating research projects incorporating elements from various disciplines including machine learning, data science, linguistics, and acoustics.

Diana Reiss’ (Hunter College) project, “Decoding Dolphin Communication”, utilized acoustics, linguistics, and data science to understand dolphin “speech”, vocal learning, and interspecies relationships.

Micheal Pardo’s (Colorado State) project, “Do Elephants Have Names? Vocal Labeling of Individual Conspecifics in African Elephants”

CETI’s linguistics lead Gašper Beguš’ (Syracuse University) project, “Generative AI and What Is Meaningful Sperm Whale Communication”. 

All of the presentations are here.