Google’s artificial intelligence unit, Google DeepMind, has unveiled a new AI model designed to assist researchers in understanding dolphin communication. The AI model, named DolphinGemma, was developed using data from the Wild Dolphin Project, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the study of Atlantic spotted dolphins and their behaviors.
Built upon Google’s open-source Gemma series, DolphinGemma is capable of producing realistic “dolphin-like” vocal sequences. According to the company, it is compact and efficient enough to run on mobile devices.
This summer, the Wild Dolphin Project plans to deploy Google’s Pixel 9 smartphone to power a specialized system aimed at interacting with dolphins. The updated technology generates synthetic dolphin vocalizations and then listens for natural responses from the animals to establish potential communication patterns. The nonprofit previously utilized the older Pixel 6 device; upgrading to the Pixel 9 will provide researchers with the capacity to simultaneously operate AI algorithms and pattern-matching processes, greatly enhancing their research capabilities.
