Toward understanding the communication in sperm whales
Jacob Andreas,
Gašper Beguš,
Michael M. Bronstein,
Roee Diamant,
Denley Delaney,
Shane Gero,
Shafi Goldwasser,
David F. Gruber,
Sarah de Haas,
Peter Malkin,
Nikolay Pavlov,
Roger Payne,
Giovanni Petri,
Daniela Rus,
Pratyusha Sharma,
Dan Tchernov,
Pernille Tønnesen,
Antonio Torralba,
Daniel Vogt,
Robert J. Wood
Affiliations
Jacob Andreas
MIT CSAIL, Cambridge, MA, USA; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Gašper Beguš
Department of Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Michael M. Bronstein
Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; IDSIA, University of Lugano, Lugano, Switzerland; Twitter, London, UK; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA; Corresponding author
Roee Diamant
Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Denley Delaney
Exploration Technology Lab, National Geographic Society, Washington DC, USA; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Shane Gero
Dominica Sperm Whale Project, Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica; Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Shafi Goldwasser
Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
David F. Gruber
Department of Natural Sciences, Baruch College and The Graduate Center, PhD Program in Biology, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Sarah de Haas
Google Research, Mountain View, CA USA; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Peter Malkin
Google Research, Mountain View, CA USA; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Nikolay Pavlov
Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Roger Payne
Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Giovanni Petri
ISI Foundation, Turin, Italy; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Daniela Rus
MIT CSAIL, Cambridge, MA, USA; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Pratyusha Sharma
MIT CSAIL, Cambridge, MA, USA; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Dan Tchernov
Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Pernille Tønnesen
Marine Bioacoustics Lab, Zoophysiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Antonio Torralba
MIT CSAIL, Cambridge, MA, USA; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Daniel Vogt
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Robert J. Wood
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
Summary: Machine learning has been advancing dramatically over the past decade. Most strides are human-based applications due to the availability of large-scale datasets; however, opportunities are ripe to apply this technology to more deeply understand non-human communication. We detail a scientific roadmap for advancing the understanding of communication of whales that can be built further upon as a template to decipher other forms of animal and non-human communication. Sperm whales, with their highly developed neuroanatomical features, cognitive abilities, social structures, and discrete click-based encoding make for an excellent model for advanced tools that can be applied to other animals in the future. We outline the key elements required for the collection and processing of massive datasets, detecting basic communication units and language-like higher-level structures, and validating models through interactive playback experiments. The technological capabilities developed by such an undertaking hold potential for cross-applications in broader communities investigating non-human communication and behavioral research.
