Can we talk to animals?

What if we could finally understand animals—not just their sounds, but their thoughts? In this episode of *What in the World*, BBC journalist Ikra explores the frontier of animal communication, where AI is transforming how we listen to whales, birds, and even bats. The Cetacean Translation Initiative (CETI) has used artificial intelligence to identify 156 distinct click patterns in sperm whales—far more than humans could detect—revealing a complexity in their vocalizations that mirrors human language. Scientists now believe these patterns may carry meaning, such as warnings about predators or changes in environment. While we’re still far from translating whale clicks into English, AI is unlocking a hidden world of animal communication, allowing us to detect sounds beyond human hearing and analyze vast audio datasets in seconds. But with great power comes great responsibility: the ability to understand animals raises urgent ethical questions. Could this knowledge be used to protect endangered species—or to exploit them? The episode leaves listeners with a haunting question: if we could talk to a whale, what would we say? And more importantly, would we listen? The episode reveals that AI isn’t about speaking to animals yet—it’s about listening with unprecedented depth. From decoding alarm calls in black-capped chickadees to detecting whale clicks beneath ocean noise, AI is revealing that animal communication is far more sophisticated than we thought.