Can we talk to animals?

我们能与动物交谈吗?

What in the World

2026-03-31

11 分钟
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单集简介 ...

Imagine being able to understand what animals are saying - and potentially even talking back. Animal-to-human communication is a subject which has garnered a lot of attention in recent years. And now artificial intelligence (AI) is turbo charging the conversation. The BBC’s Caroline Steel chats us through the basics of animal communication, how technological advancements have helped humans understand them, and what the next phase of this could look like. David Gruber from Project CETI also shares his team’s pioneering efforts to understand sperm whales. Plus, vet Haehyun Shin shares how her work would be impacted if she could understand her pet patients. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Iqra Farooq Producers: Mora Morrison and Chelsea Coates Video producer: Tim Hodges Editor: Verity Wilde
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单集文稿 ...

  • Hey, I'm Ikra and this is What's in the World from the BBC World Service.

  • Today we're going to chat about something I just know you guys have thought about before.

  • It's been on our team's minds too.

  • Can we talk to animals?

  • Also, why do some people think AI could help us out with the comms on that one as well?

  • And before we get into it, let's hear from someone who works with animals every day.

  • Hi, I'm Heihan Shin.

  • I am a veterinarian based in Boston, Massachusetts.

  • I think if our patients could speak to us, it would actually make our jobs a lot easier.

  • There are plenty of times where we as veterinarians and our patient owners have been like,

  • I wish our animals could just speak to us and tell us what was wrong.

  • Okay, back in the studio now, and I've got Caroline Steele with me right here.

  • She is a friend of the pod, and she's going to help us break this down, looking into all of the science.

  • Hey, Caroline.

  • Hello, thanks for having me on.

  • Yeah, so good to have you back.

  • So we're going to find out about how AI is being used for animal communication in a bit.

  • But before that, I wanted to talk about how animals are communicating in the first place.

  • How are they chatting?

  • So many different animals do different things.