AI is helping to decode animals’ speech. Will it also let us talk with them?

3 min read Original article ↗
  • NEWS FEATURE

The complexity of vocal communication in some primates, whales and birds might approach that of human language.

By

  1. Rachel Fieldhouse
    1. Rachel Fieldhouse is a reporter for Nature in Sydney, Australia.

A cartoon of two whales communicating with each other underwater, with a scientist in a deep-sea diving suit listening in with a piece of equipment.

Illustration: David Parkins

Deep in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mélissa Berthet found bonobos doing something thought to be uniquely human.

Nature 645, 574-576 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02917-9

References

  1. Berthet, M., Surbeck, M. & Townsend, S. W. Science 388, 104–108 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Arnon, I. et al. Science 387, 649–653 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Suzuki, T. N., Wheatcroft, D. & Griesser, M. Nature Commun. 7, 10986 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Leroux, M. et al. Nature Commun. 14, 2225 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Girard-Buttoz, C. et al. Sci. Adv. 11, eadq2879 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Sharma, P. et al. Nature Commun. 15, 3617 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Beguš, G., Sprouse, R. L., Leban, A., Silva, M. & Gero, S. Preprint at OSF https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/285cs (2023).

  8. Liao, D. A., Brecht, K. F., Johnston, M. & Nieder, A. Sci. Adv. 8, eabq3356 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Rutz, C. et al. Science 381, 152–155 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Pardo, M. A. et al. Nature Ecol. Evol. 8, 1353–1364 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Oren, G. et al. Science 385, 996–1003 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Kobayashi, K. et al. Preprint at arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2502.00344 (2025).

Download references

Subjects

Latest on: