In the 1970s, a gorilla named Koko attracted worldwide attention for her ability to use human sign language, as trainers were able to teach her American Sign Language, and she communicated with humans using more than a thousand sign languages. But skeptics assert that cocoa and other learning animals, such as chimpanzees and dolphins, don’t understand what they gesture with, and that attempts to teach other types of animals human language are effectively doomed to failure.
Although a group of scientists believes that rather than trying to find out whether animals can communicate in human language, it is more useful to understand how these creatures communicate with each other.
Among these scientists, Karen Bakker, a researcher at the University of British Columbia in Canada and a fellow at the Harvard-Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, said: “We need to understand non-human communication on our own terms, so scientists are now using advanced Sensors and artificial intelligence technology to monitor leaves.” Communicate with and learn about various creatures including plants. ”
The field of digital bioacoustics is the subject of Packer’s new book, The Sound of Life: How Digital Technology Can Bring Us Closer to the Realm of Plants and Animals.
In an interview with Scientific American, Karen Packer talks about how technology helps humans communicate with creatures like bats and bees, and how these conversations force us to rethink our relationship with other species. It also tells the history of human attempts to communicate with animals.
“During the mid-twentieth century there were many attempts to teach human language to non-human species, especially primates, eg: Coco the gorilla, but these attempts were supported by the assumption that language is unique to humans, and if we want To prove that an animal has language, we have to show that she can learn human language and go back in time; that’s a completely anthropocentric point of view.”
Packer thinks it’s best to consider the ability of these creatures, who share our planet Earth, to communicate complexly in their own way. “For example, we can’t expect bees to speak human language, but these insects actually communicate an interesting language based on vibrations, movements and positions,” she said.