Mon. Dec 23rd, 2024
Machine Learning Helps Discover Sperm Whale's 'alphabet'

Researchers have decoded the sperm whale’s ‘alphabet’ after using machine learning techniques to understand vocalizations.

in published papers In the study, titled “Context and combinatorial structure in sperm whale vocalizations,” sequences of clicks emitted by sperm whales were evaluated by researchers at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Project CETI. Ta.

All these clicks serve different linguistic functions and are known as codas. Each has a combination of rhythm, tempo, rubato, and decorative features.

The findings show how these sound elements can be freely combined to help whales communicate a vast repertoire of distinguishable codas. Although the function of each sound is not yet known, the results “demonstrate that the sperm whale’s communication system is, in principle, capable of expressing a wide space of possible meanings…”

The researchers say this is similar to those used in “human speech production and expression systems such as speed, Morse code, and musical notation.”

The study of sperm whale language was made possible through the use of machine learning, which was introduced to analyze a dataset of 8,719 codas from the Eastern Caribbean region.

Just as people in other regions differ in their speech by changing their accents and intonations, it turns out that sperm whales have similar phonograms.

“[The sperm whale alphabet] How a small set of axes of variation (place of articulation, method of articulation, and voicing in humans; rhythm, tempo, embellishment, and rubato in sperm whales) contributes to the diversity of observed phenomena or codas (in humans) Indicates whether a set is generated. (In sperm whales)

How machine learning can help unearth the sperm whale’s ‘alphabet’

in Conversation with TechCrunchMIT CSAIL Director Daniela Russ explained how machine learning was used:

“Then we will analyze the results together with biologists.”

“We believe this may be the first example outside of human language where communication provides an example of the linguistic concept of patterning duality. refers to a set of elements that can be combined to form a larger meaningful unit, similar to creating a “.”

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