# AI is helping researchers find structure in dolphin whistles, but a real conversation is still far off

> The Wild Dolphin Project is working with Georgia Tech and Google DeepMind on 40 years of recordings, and has tried two-way exchanges with an underwater computer.

- URL: https://devisdead.ai/news/ai-is-helping-researchers-find-structure-in-dolphin-whistles-but-a-real-conversa
- Published: 2026-11-08T23:31:14Z
- Author: DevIsDead Newsroom
- Section: AI
- Tags: animal communication, deepmind, research, dolphins
- Originally reported by WIRED (https://www.wired.com/story/wired-world-fair-2026-denise-herzing-wild-dolphin/).

Language models talk to people in dozens of languages. Could they help us talk to dolphins? Denise Herzing, founder of the Wild Dolphin Project, has been listening to Atlantic spotted dolphins since a 1985 trip to the Bahamas, and told the WIRED World Fair that AI is finally helping, Kate Taylor reports for [WIRED](https://www.wired.com/story/wired-world-fair-2026-denise-herzing-wild-dolphin/).

## What they're doing

Her group has collected huge amounts of dolphin video and audio and is working with Georgia Tech and Google DeepMind to find structure in the animals' clicks and whistles. "With AI, we can find patterns," she said, calling it a tool she has personally been waiting for.

They've also tried two-way communication, using a wearable underwater computer that plays dolphin-style sounds. Researchers assign sounds to objects like a scarf or to sargassum seaweed, then model the behavior: one plays the scarf sound, the other plays with the scarf, and they watch how the dolphins respond.

## The hard part

Mimicry isn't understanding. Dolphins may copy a whistle without grasping what it refers to, and telling the difference is hard in the wild; a sanctuary or more controlled setting might help. And even with the data and structure, Herzing asks, what does it mean in dolphin culture? A real two-way conversation is still a long way off.

## Why it's here

Pattern-finding in huge, unlabeled datasets is exactly what modern AI does well, and animal communication is a rare case where nobody has the answer key. It's a nice counterweight to a week of agents and IPOs.

Herzing says when she asks people what dolphins would tell us, the most common answer is some version of "why are you messing up our ocean?" Which, as she points out, says more about us than them.

**[Scoreboard](/scoreboard) update:** Draw. AI finds patterns in dolphin speech, and nobody yet knows what they mean.

Stay undead.