Encounter with humpback whales reveals potential for nonhuman intelligence communication

A workforce of scientists from the SETI Institute, College of California Davis and the Alaska Whale Basis, had a detailed encounter with a non-human (aquatic) intelligence. The Whale-SETI workforce has been finding out humpback whale communication methods in an effort to develop intelligence filters for the seek for extraterrestrial intelligence.

In response to a recorded humpback “contact” name performed into the ocean by way of an underwater speaker, a humpback whale named Twain approached and circled the workforce’s boat whereas responding in a conversational type to the whale’s “greeting sign.” In the course of the 20-minute alternate, Twain responded to every playback name and matched the interval variations between every sign.

An outline and evaluation of the encounter appears in a latest situation of the journalPeerJ, titled “Interactive Bioacoustic Playback as a Software for Detecting and Exploring Nonhuman Intelligence: ‘Conversing’ with an Alaskan Humpback Whale.”

“We imagine that is the primary such communicative alternate between people and humpback whales within the humpback ‘language,'” mentioned lead creator Dr. Brenda McCowan of U.C. Davis.

“Humpback whales are extraordinarily clever, have advanced social methods, make instruments—nets out of bubbles to catch fish, and talk extensively with each songs and social calls,” mentioned co-author Dr. Fred Sharpe of the Alaska Whale Basis.

“Due to present limitations on expertise, an vital assumption of the seek for extraterrestrial intelligence is that extraterrestrials shall be occupied with making contact and so goal human receivers. This vital assumption is definitely supported by the conduct of humpback whales,” mentioned Dr. Laurance Doyle of the SETI Institute, a co-author of the paper.

Much like finding out Antarctica as a proxy for Mars, the Whale-SETI workforce is finding out clever, terrestrial, non-human communication methods to develop filters to use to any extraterrestrial alerts acquired. The arithmetic of data idea to quantify communicative complexity—(for instance rule construction embedded in a acquired message) shall be utilized.

Different workforce members and co-authors of the paper are Dr. Josie Hubbard, Lisa Walker, and Jodi Frediani, with specialties in animal intelligences, humpback whale music evaluation, and images and conduct of humpback whales, respectively. A second paper by the workforce will quickly be out there on the non-audio communicative conduct of humpback whales—bubble rings made within the presence of (and presumably for) people.