Google is diving deep into interspecies communication with DolphinGemma, a groundbreaking AI poised to decipher dolphin chatter! Developed in collaboration with Georgia Tech and the Wild Dolphin Project (WDP), this large language model is trained to analyze the intricate sounds of dolphins, potentially unlocking the secrets of their complex communication. For decades, the quest to understand dolphin clicks, whistles, and burst pulses has been a major scientific challenge. What if we could not only listen, but also truly understand and even respond to these enigmatic creatures? This could become reality!
WDP has been studying a community of wild Atlantic spotted dolphins in the Bahamas since 1985, creating the world’s longest-running underwater dolphin research project. Their “In Their World, on Their Terms” approach provides an unparalleled dataset of underwater video and audio, meticulously linked to individual dolphin identities, life histories, and observed behaviors. This deep contextual understanding is essential for accurate interpretation of dolphin communication.
DolphinGemma uses Google’s audio technologies, including the SoundStream tokenizer, to efficiently represent dolphin sounds. The model processes sequences of natural sounds to identify patterns and predict subsequent sounds, much like language models for human speech. Currently, the 400M parameter model runs on Pixel phones. WDP is deploying DolphinGemma this field season, hoping to uncover hidden structures and potential meanings within dolphin communication, previously requiring huge human effort.
Another path involves the CHAT (Cetacean Hearing Augmentation Telemetry) system, developed with Georgia Tech. CHAT aims to establish a shared vocabulary with dolphins using synthetic whistles associated with objects they enjoy. A Google Pixel 6 already handles real-time analysis, with the next generation using a Pixel 9 to run deep learning models and template matching algorithms. Sharing DolphinGemma as an open model this summer may help researchers accelerate the search for patterns and collectively deepen our understanding of these marine mammals.