Earth Species Project is a non-profit dedicated to using artificial intelligence to decode non-human communication.
We believe that an understanding of non-human languages will transform our relationship with the rest of nature.
Along the way, we are building solutions that are supporting real conservation impact today.
We are motivated by the exponential progress we are experiencing in machine learning and human language: starting with the invention of techniques that can translate human languages without dictionaries. These new techniques can now be extended to the non-human domain.
Like the telescope, these new tools will forever change our perspective.
The motivating intuition for ESP was that modern machine learning can build powerful semantic representations of language which we can use to unlock communication with other species.
Playbacks are a common technique used to study animal vocalizations, involving the experimental presentation of stimuli to animals (usually recorded calls played back to them) to build an understanding of their physiological and cognitive abilities. With current playback tools, biologists are limited in their ability to manipulate the vocalizations in ways that will establish or change their meaning, and their exploratory power is limited. Senior AI research scientist Jen-Yu Liu is exploring whether it is possible to train AI models to generate new vocalizations in a way that allows us to solve for a particular research question or task.
Jen-yu has been working on generating calls for a number of species, including chiff-chaffs (Phylloscopus collybita) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). A new project is now allowing us to test this work through interactive playback experiments with captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) in partnership with research scientist Dr. Logan James at the University of McGill. Providing researchers with the ability to control various aspects of the vocalization production process will greatly expand the exploratory and explanatory power of bioacoustics research, and is an important step on our Roadmap to Decode.Given that we may not understand the meaning of the novel vocalizations being generated by the model, there are important ethical considerations related to potentially interfering with animals and their culture. For this reason, we are beginning this research only with captive populations and working exclusively with scientists who follow strict ethical protocols.
Senior AI Research Scientists Benjamin Hoffman, Maddie Cusimano and Jen-Yu Liu are working to map the vocal repertoires of two species of crow. The first one, the Hawaiian crow, is notable for its natural ability to use foraging tools as well as its precarious conservation status – the species sadly became extinct in the wild in 2002 and currently only survives in captivity. With Professor Christian Rutz and collaborators we are investigating how the species’ vocal repertoire has changed over time in two captive breeding populations, to inform ongoing reintroduction efforts. The second species, the carrion crow, is abundant across its European range, but has attracted attention with its unusually plastic social behavior, with groups in some populations breeding cooperatively. We are working with Professors Daniela Canestrari, Vittorio Baglione and Christian Rutz to analyze field recordings to understand the role of acoustic communication in group coordination. Mapping vocal repertoires can help uncover cultural and behavioral complexity, which in some cases has important implications for planning effective conservation strategies.
“Ever since I was a child, I’ve dreamed of understanding what animals are saying. How wonderful that is now a real possibility.”
