Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS FEATURE

AI is helping to decode animals’ speech. Will it also let us talk with them?

A cartoon of two whales communicating with each other underwater, with a scientist in a deep-sea diving suit listening in with a piece of equipment.

Illustration: David Parkins

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 645, 574-576 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02917-9

References

  1. Berthet, M., Surbeck, M. & Townsend, S. W. Science 388, 104–108 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Arnon, I. et al. Science 387, 649–653 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Suzuki, T. N., Wheatcroft, D. & Griesser, M. Nature Commun. 7, 10986 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Leroux, M. et al. Nature Commun. 14, 2225 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Girard-Buttoz, C. et al. Sci. Adv. 11, eadq2879 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Sharma, P. et al. Nature Commun. 15, 3617 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Beguš, G., Sprouse, R. L., Leban, A., Silva, M. & Gero, S. Preprint at OSF https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/285cs (2023).

  8. Liao, D. A., Brecht, K. F., Johnston, M. & Nieder, A. Sci. Adv. 8, eabq3356 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Rutz, C. et al. Science 381, 152–155 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Pardo, M. A. et al. Nature Ecol. Evol. 8, 1353–1364 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Oren, G. et al. Science 385, 996–1003 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Kobayashi, K. et al. Preprint at arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2502.00344 (2025).

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Quick links