Decoding Dolphin Language: A Path to Communication with Aliens?

The language of whales and dolphins, interplanetary databases and cosmic mathematics - Photo: NOAA

A recently published study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (USA) shows that dolphin whistles can act like words, carrying specific meanings and being understood by individuals in the group.

This is a groundbreaking discovery in the field of interspecies communication, and also the winning work of the annual $100,000 Coller Dolittle Challenge, which aims to promote efforts to establish two-way communication between humans and animals.

Important clues from dolphins

The research team led by scientist Laela Sayigh collected data from a population of bottlenose dolphins living off the coast of Sarasota (Florida, USA), paying special attention to "non-signature" sounds, which account for about 50% of whistles emitted in the wild.

Unlike "signature" sounds, which are considered to be individual names, non-signature sounds were once considered random, but new research shows they can be shared words and understood in context.

To analyze these sounds, the team used non-invasive recording technology through suction-cup stethoscopes attached during routine health checks on the dolphins, combined with digital recording tags.

The data collected is now being processed using artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning, to move towards decoding the true communication structure of this top-of-the-line intelligent fish.

"Dolphins have long been an ideal study subject in the field of animal communication. This discovery opens up the possibility that they are actually using 'words' in a similar way to humans," said scientist Sayigh.

Although Sayigh's team's research focuses on understanding communication in dolphins, many scientists believe these advances could be important clues to communicating with extraterrestrial intelligence (ET), or aliens.

Arik Kershenbaum, an associate professor at the University of Cambridge (UK), who wrote "The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy", argues: "Studying animal communication is the closest model we have to prepare for decoding signals from aliens, if we actually receive such signals."

In a report submitted to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, Kershenbaum and his colleagues argue: "Many of the challenges facing SETI today, such as detecting and decoding intelligent signals, have been at least partially addressed in the fields of animal behavior and the evolution of language on Earth."

Open the door to communication with aliens

Although Sayigh's team's research focuses on understanding communication in dolphins, many scientists believe these advances could be important clues to communicating with extraterrestrial intelligence (ET) - Photo: SETI

Along with dolphins, humpback whales are also of interest. Researchers, including Laurance Doyle (SETI) and the Alaska Whale Foundation, are collaborating to study the whales’ complex vocalizations, testing the hypothesis that they are not simply vocalizing instinctively, but may also convey information in a language-like structure.

From these premises, scientists are proposing to build a large database of interspecies communication signals, openly shared with researchers in both the fields of biology and SETI.

Along with that is the development and publication of signal analysis algorithms, which can be applied to both animal signals and extraterrestrial signals; searching for fundamental mathematical laws in communication, similar to the laws of physics that can exist as a "universal language" of the entire universe.

"If there are mathematical rules governing the transmission of information, then decoding a SETI signal becomes possible and, who knows, we might actually understand aliens," said Bill Diamond, president of the SETI Institute.

Deciphering the language of dolphins and whales is not only a step forward in behavioral biology, but also a potential window into expanding human cognition beyond Earth. As we learn to talk to intelligent creatures in the ocean, we are one step closer to being able to converse with intelligent beings among the stars.

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MINH HAI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/giai-ma-tieng-ca-heo-mo-duong-giao-tiep-voi-nguoi-ngoai-hanh-tinh-20250524115119834.htm