Real communication with animals could happen sooner than you think.
By Bruce Lloyd and Susan Clayton
Human beings have long studied the myriad ways by which animals communicate and
interact with one another. Significant research has explored body language and
vocalization; the importance of color, scent, and touch; the significance of territorial
and mating rituals; and a host of other communications patterns that signify health,
environment, and relationship.
In recent decades, researchers all over the world have studied animal communication
patterns that appear to approximate human communication. Work on hummingbirds, songbirds,
and parrots has shown their ability to learn and continue learning new sounds and to use
syntax to arrange them in ever more complex ways. With higher animals, scientists continue
to make great strides in understanding the more sophisticated communication patterns of
such animals as dolphins, whales, and great apes.
For decades, the human race has invested substantial resources in exploring the depth
of the universe while searching for extraterrestrial intelligence but, so far, there has
been no contact. What would happen if, instead of focusing on communicating with
extraterrestrial intelligence, we used our resources and computer technology to make the
fictional achievements of Doctor Dolittle a reality?
This possibility is not science fiction; it is quite likely to become a reality on a
significant scale within a decade or two. Many aspects of technology—from the speed
of computing to more-intelligent sensors to nanotechnology—are coming together to
make a breakthrough increasingly likely. And this breakthrough could happen even sooner
than we think if humanity has the will and foresight to make it happen.
. . .
