Prof. Con Slobodchikoff. In about a decade, pets' owners will have the tools to converse with their pets in a year that will revolutionize humans and animals' interactions. (Image via Conslobodchikoff)
Decoding the secret meaning behind every single noise pets make has always been humans fantasy dreams. Pets' parents have made it their mission to build a better relationship with their pets, in an attempt to "read the mind" of their furry babies. Hollywood has made movies about animals who use human words to communicate between each other, or something of the sort. And after watching every movie about animals, one can't help but wonder if the movie was an accurate representation of what actually goes on in the mind of pets around the world. Well, one scientist has a solution to offer.
Prof. Con Slobodchikoff is a connoisseur in animal language who even wrote a book titled " Chasing Doctor Dolittle." Actually, after reading about a few of his works, one might wonder if he is not aspiring to be a real-life Doctor Dolittle. He seems to be on the right track. Based on his previous work and predictions, in about a decade or so, any pet owner will be able to talk in barks or mews to their pets and understand what the pets reply back. In addition, the device Prof. Slobodchikoff is working on may help in identifying and treating sick animals.
Prof. Slobodchikoff's expertise does not come just from a few degrees and studies, but also from his extensive work with Cats and dogs: training them and treating their behavioral issues. Recently Prof. Slobodchikoff released a report about his work with prairie dogs. The report shows that the prairie dogs have a specific way of communicating with each other about a possible threats. The dogs have such an elaborate language that Slobodchikoff could decipher the description of the threat and how fast it was moving toward its preys. The professor noted that like in human languages, every animal language is composed of what is called phonemes which converge into morphemes which in turn forms words or sounds. He intends to use that knowledge combined with an Artificial Intelligence to design a device that not only can translate the cats and dogs' noises into English but can also read the pets' facial expressions to tell the parents how their pets are feeling.
Unfortunately, like any new process, there is a threat to making the translator device. Apparently, Artificial Intelligence is not very reliable yet. The whole modus operandi of an A.I is based on the machine learning and developing a response to pre-established behaviors. It happens that sometimes the A.I develops its own language and becomes uncontrollable by the scientists. It sounds like the scenario in the movie Ex-Machina can really happen, and that would be any scientist's biggest nightmare. Luckily, risks never stop the best scientists to bring to the world their best work; Therefore, all that is left is to wish Prof Slobodchikoff the best of all.
Any translator device coming from this research will be one of the highest selling devices ever made, I predict. Will it ever work with fish though?
Top Comments