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What is AI?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a computer to perform tasks that we usually think only intelligent beings can do, such as reasoning. However, thanks to recent advances in technology, AI systems have become great at finding patterns, links, and connections, allowing them to ‘think for themselves’ in a way. Artificial intelligence systems are especially great at finding language patterns, allowing them to decipher animal language much faster than humans ever could. So, will AI allow us to have a conversation with our pets?

Do cat translation apps work?

There are already various cat translation apps on the market, which record the sound your cat makes and turn it into text. Among them is MeowTalk, a free app that’s based on AI-driven research by Stavros Ntalampiras and his team. According to the scientist, computer algorithms can fairly accurately distinguish between 9 intents – 9 things your cat is trying to tell you. However, it’s very hard to know whether a translation is accurate or not. You can’t look inside your cat’s head after all. It’s easy to assume that when your cat is meowing while standing next to their food bowl, they are telling you they are hungry, but reality is you can never know for sure.

Claims on cat language

To be able to have true conversations with our cats, we don’t just have to be able to understand what our cats mean, we also have to be able to speak their language back to them in a convincing way. There’s TikTok sensation @alecanewman who claims he’s a kind of cat whisperer that can communicate with felines. In his videos, his cats obediently respond to his commands, but when we try the same with our office cat Pixi, she’s having none of it.

The future of interspecies communication is here!

Renowned scientist Tim Langraf achieved something truly groundbreaking in the field of human-animal conversation. He used AI to study the famous honeybee waggle dance, which bees use to signal where food can be found. Next, him and his team built a tiny robot that could mimic this dance, and sure enough: the bees followed RoboBee’s commands and found the nectar the robot had pointed them to! So, yes, it IS possible to have micro conversations with animals, and it might just be a matter of time before we can talk with our felines – if they want to listen, that is.

A guide to having a chat with your cat

Can’t wait to find out what your cat is trying to tell you? Check out our dedicated articles on cat vocal language and cat body language.