{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/e421d786-ec36-4148-aa99-7a3b2928a779/67b627665033e3e15a111bbd?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Ruff translation, part two: could AI decode animal communication?","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/62e286a934d4d9fe5e874247/1739990638951-e842eba5-dc66-4e53-b139-f8f4eebcb734.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>Translation is tricky business—not least when your subject belongs to a different species. But as evidence mounts that many animals are capable of rich, <a href=\"https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2025/02/12/do-animals-have-language?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=babbage&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">complex communication</a>, scientists are trying to bridge the inter-species gap. Already, artificial intelligence has proved a valuable tool. But one ambitious technologist is trying to take these models even further. Could his new initiative one day allow humans to speak to their fellow animals? And what else might people learn in the process?</p><p><br></p><p>Host: Kenneth Cukier, <em>The Economist</em>’s deputy executive editor. Contributors: Denise Herzing, founder of the Wild Dolphin Project; Aza Raskin, co-founder of the Earth Species Project, and <em>The Economist</em>’s Abby Bertics.</p><p><br></p><p><em>Transcripts of our podcasts are available via </em><a href=\"http://economist.com/podcasts\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>economist.com/podcasts</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><br></p><p><em>Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—</em><a href=\"https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>subscribe to Economist Podcasts+</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><br></p><p><em>For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our </em><a href=\"https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>FAQs page</em></a><em> or watch </em><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>our video </em></a><em>explaining how to link your account.</em></p>","author_name":"The Economist"}