Elephants call each other by name, study finds
June 12, 2024 8:06 AM Subscribe
Elephants call each other by name, study finds.
Researchers used artificial intelligence algorithm to analyse calls by two herds of African savanna elephants in Kenya.
Call any elephant (call any elephant)
Call it by name (call any elephant)
Call one today (call any elephant)
When you get off the train (call any elephant)
Call any elephant and the chances are good
Aww, the elephant will respond to you
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:15 AM on June 12 [4 favorites]
Call it by name (call any elephant)
Call one today (call any elephant)
When you get off the train (call any elephant)
Call any elephant and the chances are good
Aww, the elephant will respond to you
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:15 AM on June 12 [4 favorites]
Expressions, editorials
Explanations, exclamations, exaggerations
It's all talk
Elephant talk
posted by whatevernot at 8:25 AM on June 12 [9 favorites]
Explanations, exclamations, exaggerations
It's all talk
Elephant talk
posted by whatevernot at 8:25 AM on June 12 [9 favorites]
As a related aside, I often think about this MetaTalk comment that is (partially) about baby elephants
posted by dismas at 8:29 AM on June 12
posted by dismas at 8:29 AM on June 12
AI is going to surface a megaton of interesting information like this.
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:35 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:35 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Names were not always used in the elephant calls. But when names were called out, it was often over a long distance, and when adults were addressing young elephants.
"Don't think I can't see you, Longears Roughfeet Banana-Lover Jr.! Stop poking your brother with that stick!"
posted by signal at 9:14 AM on June 12 [13 favorites]
"Don't think I can't see you, Longears Roughfeet Banana-Lover Jr.! Stop poking your brother with that stick!"
posted by signal at 9:14 AM on June 12 [13 favorites]
Do dolphins next!
“I'll end world hunger, I'll make dolphins speak” - JoCo
Real talk though there are actual startups working on bullshit LLM doodads they’re telling pet owners will let their beloved furballs speak. I believe in most of them, you pay a subscription fee to converse with the hallucinations of a slab of silicon your pet wears, while presumably ignoring whatever your pet might be trying to communicate in the only way it knows how.
It is really nice to see some non-bullshit developments here.
posted by 1024 at 9:34 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
“I'll end world hunger, I'll make dolphins speak” - JoCo
Real talk though there are actual startups working on bullshit LLM doodads they’re telling pet owners will let their beloved furballs speak. I believe in most of them, you pay a subscription fee to converse with the hallucinations of a slab of silicon your pet wears, while presumably ignoring whatever your pet might be trying to communicate in the only way it knows how.
It is really nice to see some non-bullshit developments here.
posted by 1024 at 9:34 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
Sure, but they are *all* named Brraaaugghhzoobeeeppf
posted by stevil at 10:10 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
posted by stevil at 10:10 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Seems like they should all be named Zem...
I know, deep cut
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:20 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
I know, deep cut
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:20 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Except the one in the room. Nobody mentions her.
posted by night_train at 10:25 AM on June 12 [8 favorites]
posted by night_train at 10:25 AM on June 12 [8 favorites]
This article was such a bright spot in my day. How much there is still to find out about our non-human friends! SO MUCH
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 10:41 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 10:41 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Seems like they should all be named Zem...
Voon!
posted by tclark at 10:42 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
Voon!
posted by tclark at 10:42 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
Worth noting that the machine learning algorithm they used is a random forest classifier, which can be called "AI" but has very little relationship with the kind of generative models like ChatGPT or StableDiffusion that people also describe as AI. This is a good thing, and it's too bad that "AI" gets used in such a generic way, as this could confuse the public into thinking that this kind of research falls into the same category as scammy crap like what 1024 described.
Anyway, I think this is pretty cool!
posted by biogeo at 11:18 AM on June 12 [8 favorites]
Anyway, I think this is pretty cool!
posted by biogeo at 11:18 AM on June 12 [8 favorites]
I heard this story on NPR and it definitely made my day, and was perfect fodder for dog walking chat with my husband in the evening. Elephants are so cool and fun to learn about!
posted by obfuscation at 2:38 PM on June 12
posted by obfuscation at 2:38 PM on June 12
Incredible news!
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:14 PM on June 12
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:14 PM on June 12
🐘!
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:14 PM on June 12
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:14 PM on June 12
call me when you want
call me when you need
call me elephant names
i'll be on my way
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 10:37 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
call me when you need
call me elephant names
i'll be on my way
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 10:37 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
> Do dolphins next!
ask literally any marine biologist and they'll tell you that you do not want to know what dolphins are saying
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 10:38 PM on June 12
ask literally any marine biologist and they'll tell you that you do not want to know what dolphins are saying
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 10:38 PM on June 12
random forest classifier
...
generative models
...
people also describe as AI
You left out minimax, behavior trees, clever thermostats, and sometimes just the idea of gradient descent. It's been a long time since I've seen two letters do such heavy lifting.
I bet we could beat it with a T if we bent all the legs 120º apart
posted by 1024 at 2:43 AM on June 13
...
generative models
...
people also describe as AI
You left out minimax, behavior trees, clever thermostats, and sometimes just the idea of gradient descent. It's been a long time since I've seen two letters do such heavy lifting.
I bet we could beat it with a T if we bent all the legs 120º apart
posted by 1024 at 2:43 AM on June 13
To call another elephant by its name, the elephants must choose and agree on that name amongst the herd. There is no point in having two animals called "Kalahari" for example. And a name, really, has to signify something - a message about lineage or appearance or behaviour. So many other questions!
It is also equally interesting to consider that ourselves and our elephant cousins are the only ones using names - what are all those other thinking animals doing?
posted by rongorongo at 6:31 AM on June 13
It is also equally interesting to consider that ourselves and our elephant cousins are the only ones using names - what are all those other thinking animals doing?
posted by rongorongo at 6:31 AM on June 13
Rolling their eyes at our foolish and pointless attempt to dissect and label the grand unity of samsara, dooming us to ignorance and suffering, presumably
posted by No-sword at 9:31 PM on June 13
posted by No-sword at 9:31 PM on June 13
saṃsāra is lamestain all the cool people and animals and things know that śūnyatā’s where it’s at
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 4:53 AM on June 14
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 4:53 AM on June 14
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posted by Kitteh at 8:11 AM on June 12 [4 favorites]