Can we talk to the animals? The ethics of using machine learning to decode animal communication - Topoi There is currently much scientific and public interest in using machine learning to uncover the meaning of animal signals, which could ultimately lead to two-way communication systems between humans and other animals. This paper examines the research ethics that should govern this line of inquiry, and explores the transformative implications if scientists are successful at creating translations between animal signals and human language. We argue that the scientific and philosophical literature on animal communication systems warrants the attempt to engage in these translation projects, and describe the current state of the art of the research. While the ability to translate animal signals has many possible benefits, these come alongside no small number of risks to animal communities. We enumerate the risks that exist in the development of these models in order to help scientists avoid them. Looking ahead, we argue that successful two-way communication with animals would both reveal an existing moral landscape and create a new one. Any successful two-way communication system would require radical translation of animal signals, which in turn entails that animals are rational beings who live in normative communities. Furthermore, the creation of these communicative systems also gives rise to new responsibilities and new demands. As researchers work to transform our social relationships with animals, they must also take on the responsibility to prepare humanity for the challenges that will arise in this novel multi-species landscape.

"Can we talk to the animals? The ethics of using machine learning to decode animal communication" https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-026-10409-2 - I'm pleased that someone finally wrote a clear and complete ethical consideration of this emerging topic! #bioacoustics

Acosados por los pesticidas y cazados por su canto: proteger los jilgueros es cuidar lo cotidiano Uno de los pájaros más populares de España simboliza el declive de especies cercanas a los humanos que, a pesar de presentar poblaciones numerosas, están en riesgo ante cambios ambientales bruscos com...

Acosados por los pesticidas y cazados por su canto: proteger los jilgueros es cuidar lo cotidiano

Sociedades científicas dicen que la burocracía "lastra" a los investigadores que destinan el 40% de su tiempo a papeleo La Confederación de Sociedades Científicas de España (COSCE) ha presentado el manifiesto 'Por un Sistema...

La burocracia "lastra" a los investigadores que destinan el 40% de su tiempo a papeleo, según la Confederación de Sociedades Científicas de España (COSCE)
www.europapress.es/ciencia/labo...

Besides bird acoustics, do we have to stop advancing research on acoustic indices in areas/taxa where classification is almost impossible nowadays?
I disagree with a paper biased in taxa and without any empirical conclussion....am I missing something?

Why not? Besides bird acoustics, do we have to stop advancing research on acoustic indices in areas/taxa where classification is almost impossible nowadays?
I disagree with a paper biased in taxa and without any empirical conclussion....am I missing something?

🎯 [TIP de R - RECURSO 📚] ¿Mapas interactivos sin servidores externos?

Con {freestiler} creá archivos PMTiles desde R, ¡súper rápido y sin dependencias!

Ideal para Shiny/Quarto.
Más info: walker-data.com/freestiler/a...
✍🏽 @kylewalker.bsky.social

#RStats #RStatsES #Rtips #DataScience

Ahora sí...¡se acabó la fiesta! plop!

#Bioacoustics
#CitizenScience

Acoustic differences persist in urban Parus major (Great Tit) over two decades of declining anthropogenic noise in Paris, France Abstract. Anthropogenic noise pollution induces changes in the behavior of wild animals. Birds exhibit a well-characterized response to noise pollution: by

#ornithology
academic.oup.com/condor/advan...

1/4 Over the last decade, we’ve observed a converge in #animalcommunication research as large-scale behavioral & #bioacoustic datasets + advancing ML methods are transforming what was once species-specific, hypothesis-limited work into something far broader.🧵👇

New paper from us: "A dataset of insect sounds from 459 species for bioacoustic machine learning", published in Scientific Data, led by Marius Faiß https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07123-4 #bioacoustics #datasets

The power of #citizens in #CitizenScience #CitSci
#beetle

ASA PRESS

Understanding Acoustics: An Experimentalist’s View of Sound and Vibration is an open access book that provides graduate-level treatment of acoustics and vibration suitable for use in courses, for self-study, and as a reference
link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-4...

New research reveals something unexpected: when killer whales hear the calls of long-finned pilot whales, they don’t investigate — they leave. Fast.

¡11 millones de observaciones en España! Fotografía de Cladonia sp. por Enric Bringués el 3 de febrero de 2026 en Olius

🇪🇸 ¡11 MILLONES de observaciones en España! 🌿
Gracias a toda la comunidad de @observation.org por documentar la biodiversidad, observación a observación. Cada registro cuenta. #ExplorandoJuntosLaNaturaleza #ObservationEspaña #CienciaCiudadana

How can AI interpretability help us make new discoveries in science? I had an awesome time at OpenAI yesterday giving a talk and a fireside chat with Kevin Weil.
.

I outlined three use cases how AI can help push science forward:

📖Published!

A dynamic multi-scale occupancy model to estimate trends in habitat use in spatially and temporally complex systems

This modelling framework offers a tool for disentangling the multi-scale processes that drive species distributions across time🖥️ 🌍 🌱

Read more:

El método científico (nivel fácil)

"animal2vec and MeerKAT: A self-supervised transformer for rare-event raw audio input and a large-scale reference dataset for bioacoustics" recently published! http://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210x.70218 #bioacoustics #machinelistening #deeplearning

#CitizenScience
#CitSci
#Bird
#Biodiversity

¡Acaba de publicarse un estudio científico clave sobre el papagayo gris africano, una especie En Peligro! 🦜
Basado en 199 encuestas y +1.100 avistamientos en Guinea Ecuatorial, demuestra que las tasas de encuentro (aves/hora) son una métrica fiable para monitorear especies raras.

¡¡Excelente aporte!!
Esperemos que motive a muchos más!

#CitizenScience
#CitSci

After the success of my recent post about a broken chart, I came across these two, which led me to add two extra tips: 1) don’t use 3D effects, although they seem to look "pretty" and 2) always keep axis labels horizontal to make reading easier. More details: lnkd.in/eDYQravj

#rstats #dataviz

How to embed media in Quarto projects using iframes - YouTube videos, Spotify songs, and Shiny apps! YouTube video by Melissa Van Bussel (ggnot2)

I don't think Melissa Van Bussel has an account on here but her content on youtube is really strong!

learning alot about #rstats API's and @quarto.org with her spotify example

www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Zd...

"R #language is making a comeback" – Tiobe

#RStats

www.infoworld.com/article/4102696/r-langua...