AI decodes sperm whale language revealing complex communication patterns

Researchers at the CETI project are using artificial intelligence to decode sperm whale communication, revealing that these marine mammals possess a far more sophisticated language system than previously understood. The breakthrough suggests that sperm whales may be the first non-human species to demonstrate “duality of patterning”—a linguistic complexity once thought to be uniquely human—potentially revolutionizing our understanding of animal intelligence and communication.

What they discovered: CETI researchers have identified 21 distinct types of “codas” or call systems in sperm whale communication that show remarkable complexity.

• The team found that sperm whales can produce 10 times more meanings than previously believed, demonstrating much greater expressiveness in their vocalizations.
• When analyzed through AI visualization tools, the whale clicks reveal musical-like patterns with different tempos and rhythms, suggesting sophisticated structural organization.

Why this matters: The research challenges fundamental assumptions about the uniqueness of human language and intelligence.

• “Communication is a key characteristic of intelligence,” explained Pratyusha Sharma, a graduate student at MIT‘s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). “Being able to create an infinite set of messages by sequencing together finite sets of sounds is what has distinguished human beings from other species.”
• The discovery opens possibilities for developing machine learning techniques that could eventually enable two-way communication between humans and whales.

The big picture: Sperm whales have evolved sophisticated social behaviors over 16 million years that indicate advanced cognitive abilities.

• “The members of the family coordinate their dives, engage in extended periods of socialization, and even take turns babysitting each other’s young ones,” Sharma noted. “While coordinating in complete darkness, they exchange long sequences of sounds with one another.”
• The research reveals what Sharma calls “duality of patterning”—where meaningless individual sounds combine to create words, which then sequence together to generate complex meanings.

How it works: The CETI project combines expertise from multiple disciplines to decode whale communication.

• The interdisciplinary team includes specialists in linguistics, biology, cryptography, and AI, conducting most research in the Dominican Republic and Caribbean waters.
• Researchers use advanced visualization techniques to analyze coda structures, revealing that “even though the clicks might not have sounded like music initially, when we plot them like this, they start to look like music.”

What’s next: The team believes their AI-powered approach could extend beyond whale communication to other species.

• “Hopefully the algorithms and approaches we developed in the course of this project empower us to better understand the other species that we share this planet with,” Sharma said.
• The research methodology could provide a template for deciphering communication systems across millions of life forms on Earth that “have their own physical and mental constraints, and are involved in their own unique ecosystems and societies.”