Dolphin Whispers – Ethical AI for Interspecies Communication (https://www.dolphinwhispers.com)
We believe that one day, humans and dolphins will be able to share conversations in ways never thought possible. Dolphin Whispers was born with that vision – to pioneer ethical two-way communication with dolphins in the wild, guided by science, respect, and technology.
Dolphins have been on Earth around 10 times longer than humans, evolving into hyper-intelligent, sentient beings. They carry wisdom and ways of perceiving the world that we are only beginning to glimpse. There is so much to learn from them - even things we may not yet be capable of fully understanding as humans.
The BeginningIt started with a simple idea: what if we could talk to dolphins without disturbing them?
Behind Dolphin Whispers are its founders: Julio, an environmental engineer specialized in environmental monitoring and AI, who has been passionate about interspecies communication since childhood; and Serge, a software engineer who has dedicated the last 20 years to building programs capable of replicating the unique experiences and “conversations” that he and a close group of biologists and conservationist friends once shared with wild dolphins.
Together, they transformed a lifelong dream into a scientific pursuit. Out of this vision came DW Chat, our Android app designed to exchange digitized dolphin whistles – one of the most common ways dolphins communicate. Importantly, we never use dolphins in captivity, and we never broadcast real dolphin sounds. Instead, what we “broadcast” are digitized versions of whistles, generated by our software and derived from dolphins’ natural calls. This ensures no confusion or disruption for the animals, while still allowing us to explore meaningful interaction.
At its core, our mission is about learning from dolphins through interaction. In this exchange, we humans are the babies, slowly learning a new language from a species that has called the oceans home for millions of years before humans appeared
From App to Ocean – Our Autonomous AI VersionTo bring the conversation into the open sea, we developed our second solution: DW Station – an autonomous buoy equipped with AI, hydrophones, and an underwater projector/speaker.
DW Station can listen, analyze, and respond to dolphin whistles in real time, even without human presence. It acts as a true offshore companion - capable of maintaining ethical, continuous interaction in the dolphins’ natural environment, guided by their interest and with strong safeguards to minimize any potential impact.
Beyond listening, DW Station enables the creation of whistle-interaction scenarios, where different hypotheses and assumptions can be tested. We are also exploring the integration of machine learning to uncover patterns and extend research into more complex vocalizations beyond whistles, supporting the quest to unlock deeper meaning within dolphin communication.
This evolution means interactions can happen continuously and ethically, far offshore, where dolphins live freely.
Supporting Citizen ScienceOur mission is also about empowering researchers. That’s why we built DW EchoLab, an AI platform that extracts, tags, and organizes dolphin whistles from recordings. By finding patterns, EchoLab feeds knowledge back into DW Chat, turning research insights into field-ready tools.
Testing and LearningWe are testing our systems in real marine environments – from buoy stability to hydrophone clarity. Every experiment brought us closer to understanding how dolphins respond, and how we can design technology that respects their space while opening doors to communication.
Why It MattersDolphins are intelligent, self-aware beings. By developing ethical tools to study and interact with them, we hope to:
- Advance dolphin communication research
- Showcase their intelligence and self-awareness
- Promote global awareness against captivity
Our story is not about owning dolphin voices – it is about listening, learning, and proving that coexistence can be built on respect.
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