Scientists Use Whales to Practice Communication with Aliens

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Whales are analyzed by scientists in AlaskaReproduction: Flipar

A team of scientists from NASA, the space agency of the United States, decided to “talk” to humpback whales to try to practice communicating with aliens. Researcher Josie Hubbard, a specialist in animal behavior at the University of California, explained this technique in an interview with BBC Brasil. 

Hubbard is part of the research team for SETI, NASA’s project to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. According to the scientist, the first experiment with whales took place in 2021, off the southeast coast of Alaska. At the time, the researchers “talked” to the animals.

“It’s like experiencing another world. You hear them coming to the surface. So there’s a big breath, you can see, and they’re all together as a group. It’s just incredible,” Hubbard said.

In the interview, the expert recalled that, in order to get in touch with the whales, the group had to turn off the ship’s engines and stay at a certain distance from the animals. Next, the researchers activated a recording on an underwater speaker. 

Immediately, a humpback separated from its group, approached the ship, went to the surface, and dived. The whole process took 20 minutes.

Communication with extraterrestrials

The team of researchers believes in the possibility  that the whale sounds contain complex and intelligent messages, similar to the languages used by humans – or even aliens.

In this way, the study could be the first step towards communication with non-human intelligence, according to experts. 

Scientist Brenda McCowan told the BBC that the research was still in its infancy. “A big challenge for us is to classify these signals and determine their context, so that we can determine the meaning. I think artificial intelligence (AI) will help us do that,” he said.

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