A bad and unnecessary idea

We really don’t need to communicate any better with the animals than we do:

A rock star, a vegan financier and a pioneer of the internet are backing a project to find ways for humans to communicate with animals using machine learning and artificial intelligence. The Interspecies I/O forum on Friday announced the Coller Prize for Interspecies Conversation, a $1 million research award, according to a statement. The effort kicks off this weekend with a video conference on subjects running from the language of bonobo apes to the music of elephants.

Can you imagine how incredibly irritating it would be to actually understand what your dog was saying all the time? It would be like taking a long trip in a car with a little kid who keeps asking “are we there yet?” Except your dog would be alternating “I’m hungry, is it time for dinner yet?” with “hey, hey, hey, there’s a BIRD out there!” all day every day.