Have you ever wanted to grasp what your feline friend is trying to express? A Chinese technology firm is investigating the feasibility of translating those enigmatic meows into human language through the use of artificial intelligence.
Baidu, the operator of China’s largest search engine, has submitted a patent application to the China National Intellectual Property Administration. The proposal outlines a system that aims to convert animal vocalizations into understandable human language, based on a patent document released this week.
The quest to decode animal communication has been a longstanding endeavor among scientists, and Baidu’s patent signifies a new initiative to harness AI for this purpose.
The patent details a system that will gather various types of animal data, such as vocal sounds, behavioral patterns, and physiological signals. This data will undergo preprocessing before an AI analysis interprets the animal’s emotional state.
Following this analysis, the emotional states will be correlated with meanings and then translated into language that humans can understand.
Baidu stated in the patent document that this system could facilitate “deeper emotional communication and understanding between animals and humans, enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of cross-species interactions.”
A spokesperson for Baidu mentioned that there has been significant interest in the company’s patent application but clarified that it is still in the research stage and not yet ready for product development.
After the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022, Baidu was one of the first major Chinese enterprises to invest heavily in artificial intelligence.
Last month, it introduced its latest AI model, Ernie 4.5 Turbo, claiming it competes at the top level in various benchmark evaluations. Nevertheless, the Ernie chatbot has faced challenges in gaining popularity due to intense competition in the sector.
Globally, several initiatives are also taking place to understand animal communication. For instance, Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative) has been utilizing statistical analysis and AI since 2020 to study sperm whale communication. Meanwhile, the Earth Species Project, a non-profit established in 2017, aims to employ AI to decode various forms of animal communication.
Discussion around Baidu’s patent application generated considerable conversation on Chinese social media platforms late Wednesday.
While many users expressed enthusiasm over the potential for better pet communication, others remained skeptical about the practicality and viability of such technology.
“While it sounds impressive, we’ll need to see how it performs in real-world applications,” commented one user on Weibo.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
