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Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Chinese Tech Giant Wants to Translate Your Cat's Meows Using AI
Chinese tech company Baidu is working on an artificial intelligence-based translation system that could finally decode the greatest language mystery in the world: your cat's meows. As Reuters reports, the company filed a patent with the China National Intellectual Property Administration proposing an AI-powered system to translate animal sounds. But whether it'll ultimately be successful in deciphering your dog's barks or your cat's meows remains to be seen. Despite years of research, scientists are still far from deciphering animal communication. Baidu is hoping that the system could bring humans and their pets closer together. According to the company's patent document, it could allow for a "deeper emotional communication and understanding between animals and humans, improving the accuracy and efficiency of interspecies communication." A spokesperson told Reuters that the system is "still in the research phase," suggesting there's still significant work to be done. But Baidu has already made considerable headway. The company, which also runs the country's largest search engine, has invested in AI for years, releasing its latest AI model last month. Baidu is only one of many companies working to decode animal communication using AI. For instance, California-based nonprofit Earth Species Project has been attempting to build an AI-based system that can translate birdsong, the whistles of dolphins, and the rumblings of elephants. A separate nonprofit called NatureLM recently announced that it secured $17 million in grants to create language models that can identify the ways animals communicate with each other. Researchers have also attempted to use machine learning to understand the vocalizations of crows and monkeys. While a direct animal translation tool is more than likely still many years out, some scientists have claimed early successes. Last year, a team of scientists from SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) claimed to have "conversed" with a humpback whale in Alaska. "The things we learn from communicating with whales could help us when it comes time to connect with aliens," SETI researcher and University of California Davis animal behavioralist Josie Hubbard told the New York Post at the time. More on AI translation: World's Largest Call Center Deploys AI to "Neutralize the Accent" of Indian Employees
Economic Times
10-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Can AI help you talk to your pet? China's Baidu wants to turn barks and meows into human language
The Race to Decode the Animal Kingdom iStock Data would be fed into an AI system trained to assess an animal's emotional state. Still in the Lab, But Wagging Tails of Interest Other Ears in the Game Whispers of Doubt Amid Barks of Excitement The Bark Heard Around the World? Imagine your dog telling you they're lonely, or your cat expressing disdain not just with a hiss, but in plain English. That sci-fi fantasy could soon become reality thanks to Chinese tech behemoth Baidu , which is aiming to decode the language of animals using artificial intelligence. In a move that sounds straight out of a futuristic novel—or a Pixar movie—the Beijing-based company has filed a patent to translate barks, meows, grunts, and even body language into human ambitious project isn't just about sound. The patent, filed with China's National Intellectual Property Administration, outlines a system that collects and processes a spectrum of animal behavior. It includes vocalizations, changes in body language, and biological signals—everything from tail wags to nervous of this data would be fed into an AI system trained to assess an animal's emotional state. From there, these feelings would be translated into semantic meaning—potentially giving pets the power to 'talk' in languages like Chinese or English. Baidu promises the system will 'allow deeper emotional communication and understanding between animals and humans,' ushering in a new era of cross-species Baidu has acknowledged the buzz around its patent, the project remains firmly in the research phase. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the filing, stating that the invention has sparked 'a lot of interest,' but there's no product just hasn't stopped speculation about what the final form could look like. Industry experts like James Bore, from Bores Group consultancy, suggest the tech might land as an app: point your phone at your pet, record their antics, and receive a running translation of what they're 'saying.' Whether it's 'Feed me, now!' or 'Stop calling me a good boy when I'm clearly a great one,' pet owners may soon know exactly what their furry companions are to the Daily Mail, Baidu isn't the only group listening in. The Earth Species Project, backed by tech titans like LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, has been trying to crack the code of interspecies communication since 2017. Meanwhile, Project CETI has spent years analyzing the speech-like clicks of sperm whales, and Danish scientists recently managed to interpret pig grunts as emotional expressions using sets Baidu apart is the scale—and the swagger. As one of China's leading AI developers, Baidu has heavily invested in large language models, including its own 'Ernie 4.5 Turbo,' an ambitious rival to OpenAI's ChatGPT. While the chatbot hasn't dethroned its American counterparts yet, Baidu's bold foray into the animal world signals that the company is thinking beyond human announcement has lit up Chinese social media, with curious pet lovers debating the possibility of real-time dog-to-human dialogue. On platforms like Weibo, reactions range from delighted anticipation to eyebrow-raising scepticism.'It sounds impressive, but we'll need to see how it performs in real-world applications,' one user posted. Others pointed out that current translation apps for pets are often gimmicky and inaccurate, raising concerns that Baidu's version could ride the AI hype without delivering the echoed the sentiment, saying Baidu's system might initially resemble other 'low-quality' apps already on the market, albeit with a high-tech some may scoff, the implications of this technology are vast. If successful, Baidu's invention could revolutionize pet care, veterinary diagnostics, wildlife research, and even farming. It could also transform the emotional bond between humans and animals—from assumption to perhaps it's no coincidence that Baidu's logo features a dog's paw print. The company known for online searches might now be chasing a new kind of signal—the sound of empathy between this will result in meaningful conversation or just more bark than bite remains to be seen. But for now, the world waits with ears perked, tails wagging, and maybe—just maybe—a little hope of hearing their pet say 'I love you,' and knowing it's not just a you talk to your pet if you could?
India Today
09-05-2025
- Science
- India Today
Baidu in China working on AI that will let humans understand animals
Have you ever wondered what your cat or dog is trying to say? Sounds ambitious, right? Well, Baidu is now working on something that might help with this. For those who don't know, Baidu is a Chinese tech company founded in 2000, and is known for running the country's biggest search engine. It wants to use AI to understand what animals are feeling or trying to say. The company recently filed a patent with the China National Intellectual Property Administration that describes a special system that could change animal sounds into human language. This system would use a mix of animal sounds, behaviour, and body signals to guess the animal's emotions and then turn those emotions into words we can to Baidu's patent, the system will first collect sounds made by animals, such as meows, barks or other vocalisations. It will also look at their behaviour, like how they move or act, along with body data like heart rate. All of this information will be processed together using AI to figure out what the animal might be feeling — like happiness, fear or hunger. Then, the system — in theory — would match these feelings with words or phrases in human language. This could allow people to talk with their pets in a whole new said in the patent that the system would allow 'deeper emotional communication and understanding between animals and humans, improving the accuracy and efficiency of cross-species communication.' When asked about when this product might be ready, a Baidu spokesperson said, 'There has been a lot of interest in the filing of our patent application. Currently, it is still in the research phase.'advertisementBaidu is not the only one working on this idea. Around the world, other scientists are also trying to use AI to study how animals communicate. For example, Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative) is studying how sperm whales talk to each other using sounds. Another group called the Earth Species Project is also working to decode animal communication using technology. That project is supported by big names, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid news of Baidu's new animal translation patent came out, many folks on Chinese social media started talking. Some were excited, while others weren't so sure about the whole idea. A Weibo user wrote, 'While it sounds impressive, we'll need to see how it performs in real-world applications.'
