China's Baidu looks to patent AI system to decipher animal sounds
China's Baidu looks to patent AI system to decipher animal sounds By Liam Mo and Brenda Goh. BEIJING, May 8 - Ever wished you could understand what your cat is trying to tell you?A Chinese tech company is exploring whether it's possible to translate those mysterious meows into human language using artificial intelligence.Baidu 9888.HK, owner of China's largest search engine, has filed a patent with China National Intellectual Property Administration proposing a system to convert animal vocalisations into human language, according to a patent document published this week.Scientists have long attempted to decode animal communication, and Baidu's patent represents the latest effort to leverage AI to do so. The document says the system will collect animal data, including vocal sounds, behavioural patterns, and physiological signals, which will be preprocessed and merged before an AI-powered analysis designed to recognise the animal's emotional state.The emotional states would then be mapp