Cover: Pingo
Maurício Pinheiro
Ever since I was a child, I have had a deep love for animals. Growing up in the woods, we were surrounded by a diverse array of creatures, from dogs and cats to parrots, Brazilian black birds, chickens, quails, fish, and even wild visitors such as monkey families, huge spiders, snakes of all kinds, a porcupine, amarillos, frogs, and more. Our neighbor’s cows even made their way into my mother’s garden as unwanted visitors. Today, my love for animals remains strong, and I currently have two dogs. As I grew older, I developed an appreciation for another form of life: plants. As the renowned Roman philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero famously stated, ‘Si hortum in bibliotheca habes deerit nihil.‘ But for now, let’s focus on the dogs.
While watching the first episode of the Netflix documentary ‘The Future of,‘ I became intrigued by a researcher, Dr. Con Slobodchikoff, who had studied dog communication for almost 40 years.
Dr. Slobodchikoff has recently been developing Zoolingua, an AI platform that uses barks (audio) and body expressions (images) to help us better understand the state of mind of our furry friends and their needs. It’s truly amazing! In the future, which may not be too far away, AI could be fed also with pheromone data from electronic noses.
As technology continues to advance, it’s exciting to see how AI is being used to improve our understanding of animals, especially our beloved dogs. Zoolingua, the AI platform developed by Dr. Con Slobodchikoff, is an excellent example of this. By using machine learning algorithms to analyze barks and body language (and pheromones), Zoolingua in form of a smartphone app may be able to determine what a dog is feeling and communicate it to their human companions.
Not only is this technology groundbreaking, but it is also extremely beneficial, particularly for dogs that struggle to communicate their needs effectively. For instance, a dog may bark excessively or act out when feeling anxious or uncomfortable, and it can be difficult for their owners to determine the root cause of their behavior. In my own experience, my two-year Picher Pipoca has a tendency to destroy my couches, while my four-year-old Yorkshire Terrier still has occasional “leak” accidents. However, with Zoolingua, we may soon have the ability to gain a deeper understanding of our furry friends’ needs and provide them with the appropriate care and attention they deserve.
Furthermore, by gaining insight into how our furry friends perceive us, we could potentially integrate dog psychology into AI models, allowing us to better understand their innate desire to treat us kindly and love us unconditionally. Perhaps this approach would prove to be more effective than programming them using Asimov’s laws. This could also pave the way for more advanced and nuanced AI systems that are capable of interpreting and responding to our behavior in a more intuitive and empathetic manner.
As someone who has always been passionate about animals, I am excited to see how AI technology can improve our relationship with them. With innovations like Zoolingua, we are not only learning more about their behavior but also developing new ways to connect with and care for them. It’s an exciting time for animal lovers everywhere. Congratulations Dr. Slobodchikoff!
Si hortum et canem habes in bibliotheca, nihil deerit.
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