Fear of 'invading privacy' of animals in the AI ​​era

According to Bloomberg, humans have tried to communicate with animals for thousands of years. For example, bone flutes dating back 12,000 years in Israel may have been used to communicate with falcons. During the period 1977-2007, animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg conducted experiments on cognitive and communication abilities with Alex, an African gray parrot. British anthropologist Jane Goodall became famous in part because she claimed to be able to speak chimpanzee.

Today, many scientists believe advances in AI and biological data recording devices help speed up the sound analysis process, opening up opportunities for humans to communicate with animals. "Because AI advances very quickly, I fully believe we will be able to decode it by 2030," said billionaire Jeremy Coller, a major sponsor in the field.

Most scientists who study animal language hope that when humans better understand the inner world of other species, they will be less indifferent to climate change or participate in destroying the natural environment. However, learning animal language also causes concerns such as violating their privacy and disrupting their social life.

"I think AI is a promising direction to help understand animal life better. But I can't talk about the potential benefits without mentioning the risks," César Rodríguez-Garavito, Director of the More-Than-Human Life (MOTH) program at New York University, told the Guardian.

Rodríguez-Garavito said humans have long used technology to deal with animals. 20th century hunters used sonar technology to herd panicked whales to the surface and kill them. Poachers imitate the tribal practice of imitating bird calls, using automatic recordings and playback to lure birds into traps.

"AI has the potential to cause greater harm when deployed on a large scale," said Rodríguez-Garavito. In a report last year, he and his colleagues raised the gloomy prospect that animal communication technology could cause them to face crowds of people wanting to chat, be used for military purposes such as mine detection, and face the risk of being captured and killed.

"The worst situation is that humans arbitrarily interfere with their communication and lives just for entertainment," Rodríguez-Garavito said. Accordingly, whale watching tour companies can use AI to lure animals closer to the boat, or tourists in Yellowstone National Park can use AI to provoke wolves to howl, elk to roar, and bison to roar, making them confused and exhausted.

Biologist Vittorio Baglione, who spent years studying the language of scavenging crows, admitted that his research could be used by hunters to tell a crow: "Come here, it's safe."

Stephanie King, a researcher at the University of Bristol who co-leads the Shark Bay Dolphin Research Project, has spent thousands of hours observing and listening to this creature. Like most animal behavior researchers, King increasingly uses AI in his work. "If used responsibly, AI can change what we do with the data we collect," she said.

But when asked whether AI will one day allow humans to "speak dolphin language," she hesitated: "I think we're doing them a disservice by focusing on that question."

Elephant researcher Joyce Poole agrees: "I'm quite annoyed with the goal of talking to animals. I think it's a bit gimmicky." Poole believes that only the basic ability is needed to understand what animals are saying and thinking rather than interfering in their lives.

While many scientists think humans should just listen to animals, some think we should find ways to respond. "The issue is interesting because if we respond, we inject ourselves into the lives of animals," said Kristin Andrews, a philosophy professor and expert on animal minds at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York.

The prospect of being able to translate animal languages ​​using AI also creates a "data collection race". Many researchers release recording devices into the water to listen to whale sounds, attach biological data recording devices to wolves, and design backpack microphones for birds. These actions cause growing concerns about privacy violations.

Additionally, if one wants to turn the data collected into a kind of dictionary, the scientist will need to check whether the assumption about the meaning of the cry is correct. One of the popular ways is "playback" - playing recorded calls for animals to hear. However, this method is controversial because of the risk of negative effects on them. "You can stress the animals, disturb the social environment, cause conflicts between them, especially if you don't really understand the meaning of the calls," said biologist Baglione.

For example, in 2007, zoologist Katy Payne shared that she once played back the cry of a dead elephant for its grandchild. As a result, the animal responded with "sudden, intense bouts of moaning and roaring".

Some experts warn that replaying an animal's cry to the whole herd has the same effect as releasing a deepfake video, which can cause other members to ignore its real communication efforts.

Baglione doesn't know exactly where his research will lead or how it will impact his beloved crows in the long run. "Any progress is great, unless people start using that knowledge against animals," he said, adding that despite his concerns, he still plans to continue his research.

Similarly, Andrews believes talking through audio playback is essential to truly understanding animals. "I don't think it's possible to decode anything without engaging in two-way communication," she said.

Andrews recommends only conducting replays with creatures that like to be friends with humans, such as bottlenose dolphins. They were able to swim away freely, but voluntarily spent time with the researchers. "They choose a bicultural life," she concluded.