- Animal behaviour expert Professor Con Slobodchikoff is developing technology that can translate the complex calls of prairie dogs
- He says that in 5 to 10 years, similar software could be available to have conversations with farm animals, lions and tigers and even pets
- Said that pets will be able to tell owners what they want for dinner and that being able to talk with dogs could help treat behavioural problems
Professor Con Slobodchikoff is developing new technology that interprets the calls of the prairie dog and says the technology could eventually be used to interpret other animals.
He also suggested that the technology could one day be fine-tuned to enable humans to talk back to animals and engage in conversation.
Professor Con Slobodchikoff says that dogs may be able to express a preference for certain foods using the new technology. He also hopes that communicating with them may help treat behavioural problems.
In an interview with The Atlantic, Professor Slobodchikoff explained he is using new artificial intelligence (AI) software to record the calls of prairie dogs. He is then using the AI techniques to analyse the barks and translate them into English.
He explained that from his research, he knew that prairie dogs warn other members of the pack about potential dangers in great detail - even describing a threat as being a 'thin, brown coyote approaching quickly'.
The professor, who has spent the past 30 years analysing the behaviour of animals, added: 'I think we have the technology now to be able to develop the devices that are, say, the size of a cellphone, that would allow us to talk to our dogs and cats.
© @Copy; CorbisThe Film Dr Doolottle may become a reality in less than a decade thanks to new technology
'So the dog says "bark!" and the device analyses it and says, "I want to eat chicken tonight."
'Or the cat can say "meow," and it can say, "You haven't cleaned my litterbox recently".'
He estimated that it would take between five and ten years of extensive research to get to this point.
If such technology became a reality, it would change the world, he explained: 'Consider that, for example, 40 per cent of all households in America have dogs, 33 per cent have cats -- at least one cat, at least one dog.
'And consider that something like four million dogs are euthanised every year because of behavioural problems.
'Well, most problems are because of the lack of communication between animal and human. The human can't get across to the animal what the human expects, and the animal can't get across to the human what it's experiencing.
'And if we had a chance to talk back and forth, the dog could say, "You're scaring me." And you could say, "Well, I'm sorry, I didn't realise that I was scaring you. I'll give you more space."
'What I'm hoping, actually, is that down the road, we will be forming partnerships with animals, rather than exploiting animals.'
He added that many people are afraid of animals or they have nothing to do with them because they don't think that animals have anything to contribute to their lives.
How technology is enabling us to understand animal language
Professor Slobodchikoff explained he is using new artificial intelligence (AI) software to record the calls of prairie dogs. He is then using the AI techniques to analyse the barks and translate them into English.
He explained that from his research, he knew that prairie dogs warn other members of the pack about potential dangers in great detail - even describing a threat as being a 'thin, brown coyote approaching quickly'.
The professor, who has spent the past 30 years analysing the behaviour of animals, added: 'I think we have the technology now to be able to develop the devices that are, say, the size of a cellphone, that would allow us to talk to our dogs and cats.
Previous attempts to help human understand animals include the BowLingual.
The Japanese device claims to translate barks from dozens of different breeds of dogs, including mixed-breeds.
Based on Dr. Matsumi Suzuki's Animal Emotion Analysis System developed at Japan Acoustic Laboratory, the device interprets barks and chooses one of 200 phrases that supposedly reflects what the the dog is saying.
The device was successful enough to be brought to the American market, and was even named one of 2002's best inventions by Time Magazine. But reports of the BowLingual's accuracy have been mixed with popular product-review website Epinions giving it a low 1.5 star average.
In 2003 the same company launched a follow-up product for cats called Meowlingual although this was less successful.
He predicts that once people get to the point where they can start talking to animals, they'll realise that animals are living, breathing, thinking beings, and that they have much to contribute to people's lives.
Communication with dogs is especially easy, if people would just take the time to learn how they communicate with us.
I have worked as a canine behavioral expert and I can almost always tell what a dog wants just by reading its body language. It's not that hard if you know what to look for.
It's sad that the day that our technology surpasses our humanity is not far away.