Skeletons Talk to Visitors at Cambridge Museum of Zoology Thanks to AI

The University of Cambridge's Museum of Zoology will now be able to ‘communicate’ with animal skeletons using artificial intelligence, The Guardian reports.

Thanks to the technology, 13 species will ‘speak’, including the dodo bird, narwhal, finwal, red panda, and cockroach. The exhibition will open on 15 October.

‘Equipped with personalities and accents, the dead creatures and models can communicate by voice or text message via visitors' mobile phones.

The technology allows the animals to describe the time they spent on Earth and the problems they faced, hoping to overcome apathy towards the biodiversity crisis,’ the publication said.

The project was developed by Nature Perspectives, a company that creates AI models to help strengthen the connection between people and the natural world.

For each exhibit, the AI receives specific information about where the specimen lived, its natural environment, and how it came into the collection, as well as all available information about the species it represents.

The exhibits have been ‘taught’ to change their tone and language according to the age of the person they are speaking to. This option is available in more than 20 languages.

‘Part of the experiment is to test whether people will change their attitude towards animals if we give them their own voice. Can we change the public perception of, for example, a cockroach by giving it a voice?’ said Jack Ashby, assistant director of the museum.

He hopes that by having ‘live conversations’ with the exhibits, visitors will learn more about them than can be put on the stands.

‘When you talk to these animals, they really seem to have personalities - it's a very strange experience.

I started with questions like: ‘Where did you live?‘ and “How did you die?”, but I ended up asking much more human questions,’ said the museum employee.

For example, when the flightless extinct dodo bird was asked what it ate, it ‘described’ its Mauritian diet, which consists of fruits, seeds, and the occasional small invertebrate. It also ‘explained’ that its strong, curved beak is ideal for cracking hard fruits.

The AI-powered exhibit also provides information on whether humans should try to bring the species back through cloning.

‘Even with advanced technology, bringing back the dodo will require not only our DNA, but also the delicate ecosystem of Mauritius that supports our species.

It is a poignant reminder that the true essence of all life goes beyond the genetic code - it is intricately woven into its natural habitat,’ the exhibit informs.

To start a conversation with the exhibit, visitors will scan the QR code located near the animal with their phones.