AI Model Seeks To Decode What Dolphins Are Saying

Researchers studying dolphin communication are now using a new AI model developed by Google to better understand the structure of dolphin vocalizations.

The model, known as DolphinGemma, analyzes recorded dolphin sounds to identify patterns and generate sequences of dolphin-like vocalizations, as announced Tuesday on a Google News Blog.

The initiative is a collaboration between Google, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Wild Dolphin Project (WDP), a non-profit that has been researching a community of wild Atlantic spotted dolphins in the Bahamas since 1985.

Google reports that the tool is designed to support the study of interspecies communication by identifying patterns within the complex sound sequences dolphins use in the wild. Their long-term, non-invasive fieldwork has produced a substantial archive of audio and video, which is now being used to train AI systems.

This includes examples of known sound types—such as signature whistles used between mothers and calves, burst pulses during conflict, and click buzzes in courtship or predator interactions.

The aim is to better understand the structure of these vocalizations and what they may indicate about dolphin cognition and communication.

DolphinGemma builds on this dataset by applying Google’s SoundStream audio processing and a 400-million parameter model architecture to learn and predict dolphin sounds.

Rather than attempting to translate the sounds directly, the model processes sequences of natural dolphin vocalizations and generates new, dolphin-like sounds based on learned patterns.

Google reports that the approach mirrors how large language models handle human language, predicting likely continuations based on prior input.

The model is currently being tested in the field by WDP using Pixel smartphones. Researchers hope it will help identify recurring vocal structures and reduce the manual labor involved in parsing large volumes of acoustic data.

The tool may also assist in identifying potential building blocks of communication systems among dolphins. Alongside this effort, WDP and Georgia Tech are developing the CHAT (Cetacean Hearing Augmentation Telemetry) system—a separate interface for limited two-way interaction.

CHAT emits synthetic whistles associated with objects dolphins are known to interact with. The system is designed to detect whether dolphins mimic these whistles, and to alert researchers in real time via underwater headphones.

The latest version, incorporating DolphinGemma, allows for more efficient processing and prediction of these vocalizations in real time.

While the research does not claim to have decoded dolphin language, it represents a step forward in identifying possible structures within their vocal behavior.

Google plans to release DolphinGemma as an open model in the coming months, enabling broader use by researchers working with other cetacean species.