AI will soon be able to translate what your cat or dog is saying to you

As a pet parent, even though you eventually begin to understand the meaning behind every wiggle of the tail, every meow and every bark, a thought almost every pet parent has had is how cool it would be if they could know exactly what their pets are saying. Personally, I have always wanted to know what my pets call me –– I am a mother of three cats and a dog. So, when I came across a recent research where scientists are using artificial intelligence (AI) to decipher the language of animals, it piqued my interest.

Daniel Mills, a veterinary behavioural medicine professor at the University of Lincoln, has highlighted the potential for AI to interpret what your pet could be saying to you, suggesting that AI could teach us much about the pets’ intentions, according to a report by The Guardian.

This research follows another shared last week in The Science Direct journal on the complexity of facial expressions in cats, which revealed that cats exhibit 276 facial expressions while interacting with other cats. Dr Brittany Florkiewicz, an assistant psychology professor at Lyon College, emphasised that cat expressions differ when directed towards humans compared to interactions with other cats. This complexity in facial cues poses a challenge to understanding them. This is where the new AI research steps in, where it can help scientists explore and unravel these nuances.

Mills claims that using AI to identify specific features like ear positions can be crucial for specific emotions. Another approach involves allowing AI to establish its own rules for classifying expressions, offering fresh insights and highlighting new rules for distinguishing various expressions.

Mills and his team are employing AI to detect emotional states from facial expressions in cats, dogs, and horses using a plethora of videos available online. This AI application not only helps in comprehending pets' communication but also holds the potential for animal welfare, such as screening cows' facial expressions for signs of pain during milking sessions, and providing daily health checks to ensure their well-being.

AI's implications in understanding animal communication extend beyond decoding pets; it could aid conservation efforts and offer insights into fundamental biology and psychology. Researchers, including Briefer, are using AI to analyse vocalisations in various animals like zebras, white rhinos, and parakeets to explore their communication patterns, potentially shedding light on the origins of human language skills compared to our closest relatives.