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Digital Dolittles: Talking to the animals?

Could new technologies help us to communicate with some animals?

Digital technology has transformed the science of bioacoustics - the ways we hear and record animal life in the deep oceans, through the earth and in the skies. Vast leaps in computing power allow us to analyse hundreds of thousands of hours of chirps, whistles, clicks and rumbles. Some researchers say AI can help us understand how elephants communicate in the jungle, what whales are clicking to one another across the watery abyss, and what bats squeal when swooping through the sky.

Can we, should we, become digital Dolittles? Maria Margaronis listens in to these ever-expanding realms and wonders what they tell us about our own place on the planet.

Presenter: Maria Margaronis
Producer: Mark Burman
Editor: Monica Whitlock
A Storyscape production for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service

(Photo: Elephants moving logs with their trunks. Credit: Mark Burman)

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50 minutes

Last on

Wed 24 Sep 2025 23:06GMT

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