Technologies

Dolphin Researchers Win $100,000 AI Prize for Studying Their Whistling

Scientists studied a dolphin community in Florida, uncovering evidence of language-like communication between the aquatic mammals.

If any dolphins are reading this: Hello! A team of scientists studying a community of Florida dolphins has been awarded the first $100,000 Coller Dolittle Challenge prize, established to award research in interspecies communication algorithms. The team used non-invasive hydrophones to perform the research, which offers evidence that dolphins may be using whistles like words, shared with multiple members of their communities.

A type of whistle dolphins employ is used as an alarm, according to the US-based team led by Laela Sayigh of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Another whistle the team studied is used by dolphins to respond to unexpected or unfamiliar situations. Capturing the sounds is just the beginning. Researchers will use AI to continue deciphering the whistles to try to find more patterns.

«The main thing stopping us cracking the code of animal communication is a lack of data. Think of the 1 trillion words needed to train a large language model like ChatGPT. We don’t have anything like this for other animals,» said Jonathan Birch, a professor at London School of Economics and Political Science and one of the judges for the prize.

«That’s why we need programs like the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, which has built up an extraordinary library of dolphin whistles over 40 years. The cumulative result of all that work is that Laela Sayigh and her team can now use deep learning to analyze the whistles and perhaps, one day, crack the code,» Brich added.

The award was part of a ceremony that honored the work of four teams from across the world. In addition to the dolphin project, researchers studied ways in which nightingales, marmoset monkeys and cuttlefish communicate. The challenge is a collaboration between the Jeremy Coller Foundation and Tel Aviv University. Submissions for next year open in August.

Dolphin language is just the start

Researching animals and trying to learn the secrets of their communication is nothing new, but AI is speeding up the creation of larger and larger datasets. «Breakthroughs are inevitable,» said Kate Zacarian, CEO and co-founder of Earth Species Project, a California-based nonprofit that also works in breaking down language barriers with the animal world.

«Just as AI has revolutionized the fields of medicine and material science, we see a similar opportunity to bring those advances to the study of animal communication and empower researchers in this space with entirely new capabilities,» she said.

Zacarian applauded Sayigh’s team and their win and said it will help bring broader recognition to the study of non-human animal communication. It could also bring more attention to ways that AI can change the nature of this type of research.
«The AI systems aren’t just faster. They allow for entirely new types of inquiry,» she said. «We’re moving from decoding isolated signals to exploring communication as a rich, dynamic, and structure phenomenon, which is a task that’s simply too big for our human brains, but possible for large-scale AI models.»

The Earth Species Project recently released an open-source large audio language model for analyzing animal sounds known as NatureLM audio. The organization is now working with biologists and ethologists to study species including orcas, carrion crows, jumping spiders and more. It plans to release some of their findings later this year, Zacarian said.

Technologies

Chevy’s New Bolt Electric Car Is Truly Affordable, at Less Than $30,000

The new Chevrolet Bolt is cheaper than other «affordable» EVs, and even fixes the weaknesses of its predecessor.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 26 #602

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 26, No. 602.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one, and timely, too. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Fall-ing

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Crisp season.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

HARD, DUST, MORN, LOOT, HAVE, GALE, LOAF, TOOL, VEST, BUMP, DOUBT, BALE, BALL, FOOT, CHARD

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

CORN, FOLIAGE, HARVEST, FOOTBALL, ORCHARDS, PUMPKINS

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is AUTUMN. To find it, look for the A that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind across.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 26, #868

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 868 for Sunday, Oct. 26.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a diverse mix of topics. I laughed out loud at the green category. As a Gen Xer, I remember actually singing a song about that topic in music class back in the day. Today’s categories are not too tough, but if you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Music.

Green group hint: The Greatest.

Blue group hint: Time to compete.

Purple group hint: Teeny tiny.