Artificial intelligence is opening a new way to study how animals communicate, but the biggest question may not be whether humans can “talk to animals.” It may be what that goal does for the animals themselves.
That question sits at the center of work involving dolphins, animal sounds and algorithms. The Coller Dolittle Challenge is seeking an algorithm for communicating with non-human organisms, while Shark Bay Dolphin Research is part of a wider effort to understand dolphin communication. The promise is striking, but the knowledge behind it remains limited.
Stephanie King, a researcher at the University of Bristol, sees real value in using AI to examine animal communication. “If it’s used responsibly, AI can transform what we can do with the data we collect,” she said. But she also warns that the technology should not push researchers toward a question that puts human excitement ahead of animal welfare.
The limits behind the promise
AI can work with large amounts of information, which makes it useful for research based on animal sounds. Yet having more powerful tools does not mean researchers already understand the systems those tools are studying. “We’re still scratching the surface with what many of the sounds mean,” King said.
That gap matters. An algorithm might find patterns in sounds, but a pattern is not automatically a message that humans understand. The difference between identifying a repeated sound and knowing what it means remains central to this work.
King argues that the focus on creating a system that communicates with animals can distract from the more basic task of understanding them. “I think we’re doing the animals a disservice by focusing on that question,” she said.
Her concern is not that AI has no place in animal communication research. Instead, it is that the most exciting possible result can draw attention away from what the evidence actually shows. Research can become shaped by the desire for a breakthrough before the underlying communication system is clear.
Why dolphin research needs patience
Dolphins provide a clear example of the challenge. Shark Bay Dolphin Research focuses attention on these animals, while Bella, a pregnant dolphin at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, shows how discussions about dolphin communication can involve individual animals as well as research projects.
The details matter because communication does not exist apart from the animals that use it. Any attempt to study their sounds needs to account for the fact that researchers are examining a system they barely understand. As King put it, “We need to appreciate that they have a complex communication system that we barely understand.”
That statement changes the way AI’s role looks. The technology is not a shortcut to a ready-made translation. It is a tool that may help researchers work with collected data, search for patterns and ask better questions, provided those questions stay connected to what the evidence can support.
A competition seeking an algorithm for communicating with non-human organisms naturally attracts attention because it offers a simple and memorable goal. But animal communication may not fit neatly into a human idea of language, and the current focus risks making the final achievement seem clearer than the research allows.
Keeping the animals at the center
Amy Martin, an author and researcher, is also part of the conversation around this subject. Her involvement, alongside King’s work, the Coller Dolittle Challenge and Shark Bay Dolphin Research, reflects the range of questions raised by AI and animal communication.
The debate is not only about what machines can process. It is also about why researchers are studying animal sounds, what conclusions they draw from the results and whether the animals gain anything from the work. Those questions become more important when the technology encourages people to chase the most exciting discovery.
King said, “They tend to be biasing themselves towards the most exciting discovery, which misleads us to what we know about these animals.” The warning is direct: a compelling claim can leave people with a stronger impression of knowledge than researchers actually possess.
Responsible use of AI therefore means more than building an impressive algorithm. It means keeping uncertainty visible and resisting the urge to turn limited understanding into a confident translation. The technology can transform what researchers do with collected data, but it cannot remove the need to understand what that data means.
As of Tue 22 Sep 2026, the central issue remains open. AI may help people study dolphins and other non-human organisms, but the animals’ complex communication systems are still only partly understood. Before asking whether humans can talk to animals, researchers need to ask whether they are listening well enough to know what the animals are saying.
