科學家正在用 AI 破譯動物語言

Researchers are developing an Al system that may one day help humans understand how animals communicate with each other. If scientists can understand animal “languages\"， it could help us protect wildlife better and even give animals more legal rights.

NatureLM is an Al language model that can already recognize which animal is “speaking\" guess the animal's age and tell if the animal is scared，happy， or playing.

Surprisingly， NatureLM can even understand some sounds from species it has never studied before！ The Al learns by analyzing human speech， animal sounds， and environmental noises.

研究人員正在開發一種人工智能（AI）系統，未來或能幫助人類理解動物間的交流方式。若科學家能破譯動物“語言”，這將有助于我們更好地保護野生動物，甚至為動物爭取更多合法權益

這款名為NatureLM的AI語言模型已經能夠識別發聲動物的種類，推測動物的年齡，判斷動物是害怕、開心還是在玩耍。

令人驚訝的是，NatureLM甚至能理解一些從未研究過的動物聲音！它通過分析人類語言、動物叫聲和環境噪聲進行學習。

One researcher explained， “We're losing many animal species because humans feel disconnected from nature. Al might help us ‘translate' animal communication and rebuild that connection.\"

Al is already good at translating human languages （like English to Chinese）. But animals don't “talk\" the same way as humans do. We have a limited understanding of how animals communicate. However， researchers know， for example， that birds make diferent sounds when they are singing songs as compared to sounding a warning call They also have known that many species have single names for one another and some， like prairie dogs， have a system of nouns and adjectives to describe predators.

While Al helps us understand nature， it needs lots of electricity to work. This creates challenges for power systems and makes tech companies rethink some eco-friendly plans. The researcher pointed out， \"We need to think carefully about how to use Al responsibly while enjoying its benefits.\"

研究人員解釋道：“由于人類與自然的聯系不再緊密，許多動物正瀕臨滅絕。AI或許能幫助我們‘翻譯’動物語言，重建這種聯系。

雖然AI已經能熟練翻譯人類語言（如將英語翻譯成中文），但動物的“語言”與人類的截然不同。目前人類對動物交流方式的認知還很有限。但研究人員已發現，鳥類在鳴叫和發出警告時的叫聲是不同的，許多動物在彼此交流時有專屬稱呼，一些動物（如草原土撥鼠）甚至會用名詞和形容詞來描述捕食者。

不過，AI在助力自然研究的同時，其巨大的耗電量也給電力系統帶來挑戰，促使科技公司重新考慮一些環保方案。研究人員提醒：“我們在享受AI帶來益處的同時，必須審慎思考如何負責任地使用這項技術。

Word Bank

right/rait/n.正當的要求；權利

You have no right to stop me from going in there.

model/'mpdl/n.模型

recognize /'rek?gnaiz/ v. 認出；辨別出

species/'spi：fi：z/n.種，物種

This region is the home of many species of wild flowers.