Have you ever wondered what your cat might be trying to communicate? A technology firm in China is investigating the potential to translate feline vocalizations into human language through the use of artificial intelligence.
Baidu, the operator of the largest search engine in China, has submitted a patent application to the China National Intellectual Property Administration. This proposal outlines a system aimed at converting animal sounds into language comprehensible by humans, as detailed in a patent document released this week.
Efforts to decode animal communication have been underway for some time, and Baidu’s initiative represents a contemporary approach to harnessing AI in this endeavor.
The patent document indicates that the proposed system will gather data from animals, encompassing vocalizations, behavior patterns, and physiological signals. This information will undergo preprocessing and integration before being analyzed by AI to determine the emotional states of the animals.
Subsequently, these emotional states would be associated with specific meanings and translated into language that humans can understand.
Baidu expressed in the patent filing that this system could foster “deeper emotional communication and understanding between animals and humans, enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of cross-species communication.”
A spokesperson for Baidu remarked on the strong interest generated by the patent application, stating, “Currently, it is still in the research phase,” when questioned about the timeline for development into a marketable product.
Following the emergence of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022, Baidu was one of the initial major Chinese companies to significantly invest in artificial intelligence.
The company launched its latest AI model, Ernie 4.5 Turbo, last month, claiming it performed competitively in various benchmark evaluations. Nevertheless, the Ernie chatbot has encountered challenges in gaining market presence amidst robust competition.
Globally, there are several initiatives aimed at interpreting animal communications. Researchers involved in Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative) have utilized statistical analysis and AI since 2020 to decode the communication patterns of sperm whales. Similarly, the Earth Species Project, a non-profit organization established in 2017 with support from Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn fame, is also leveraging AI for this purpose.
Local reports on Baidu’s patent application led to discussions on various Chinese social media platforms late Wednesday.
While many users expressed enthusiasm about the possibility of better understanding their pets, others remained skeptical.
One Weibo user commented, “While it sounds impressive, we’ll need to see how it performs in real-world applications.”
© Thomson Reuters 2025
