Oink Oink? Scientists use artificial intelligence to understand… pigs

Well, we already know that the applications in the field of artificial intelligence are almost countless. Therefore, a group of European scientists dedicated themselves to creating an algorithm whose main goal was to understand what pigs were saying. The farmers are grateful.

Is the pig calm or nervous? Artificial intelligence responds
Communication with pigs may soon become possible, as scientists say they have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can interpret what the animals are saying.
Essentially, it's an algorithm capable of decoding the sounds made by pigs and can alert farmers to negative emotions, according to the researchers. The hope is that this tool will help improve animal welfare.
The scientists, from universities in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, Norway and the Czech Republic, used thousands of recordings of pig sounds in different scenarios to build the algorithm.

Elodie Mandel-Briefer, a behavioral biologist at the University of Copenhagen, shows how she records pig calls on the farm for later analysis, Viperode, Denmark, October 21, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)

Scenarios include play, isolation and competition for food, and they found that grunts, winks and squeals reveal positive or negative feelings.

Animals' emotions are fundamental to their well-being, but we measure very little of them on farms.

says Elodie Mandel-Briefer, co-leader of the study and a behavioral biologist at... University of Copenhagen.
The study found that pigs raised outdoors, on organic or free-range farms, with the ability to move freely and dig in the ground, made fewer stress calls compared to conventionally raised pigs.
Researchers believe this method could one day be used to classify farms, helping consumers make informed choices.

Once the tool is up and running, farmers will be able to have an app on their mobile phones that translates what their pigs are saying in terms of emotions.

Mandel Braver explained.
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So what do the votes mean?
See some of the study's conclusions:

Short grunts generally indicate positive emotions.
Long grunts often indicate discomfort.
High frequency sounds, such as screaming or squealing, usually indicate that pigs are under stress.

This is another example to help us understand the enormous potential of AI in more detailed everyday scenarios.
It is also true that it shows us the use of artificial intelligence very early on. This might help us imagine what it will be like in 10 years!