WE TALK ABOUT
Big prize offered for first scientists to ‘talk’ to animals
IN Hugh Lofting’s Dr Dolittle books and the movies of the same name, an inventive researcher who learns to talk to animals captured the imagination of young and old.
Now prize money of $10 million (R180 million) is being offered to scientists who succeed in establishing real “conversations” between humans and animals.
The Coller Dolittle Challenge for Interspecies Two-Way Communication is the brainchild of the British businessman and philanthropist Jeremy Coller’s foundation, in collaboration with a group of scientists and academics.
It’s hoped advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology will eventually help researchers reach this milestone.
“Just as the Rosetta Stone unlocked the secrets of the hieroglyphs, in the same way I am convinced the power of AI can help us unlock interspecies conversation,” says Coller.
The 2 000-year-old Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, is a large flat stone on which the key to deciphering the writing system of ancient Egypt was engraved.
Jeremy and his team feel the end goal of two-way communication between humans and animals isn’t a far-fetched
