11/11/2024

How AI is helping decode the oinks and grunts of pigs

European scientists have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm capable of interpreting pig sounds, aiming to create a tool that can help farmers improve animal welfare and help consumers make informed choices, The AI algorithm was developed from thousands of pig recordings in different settings, finding the noises they make when they play or when they are isolated. Researchers found pigs raised ranging freely outdoors produced fewer stress calls than those raised in crowded indoor pens.

■Class discussion: Do you care how farm animals are treated? Would you be willing to pay more for food produced from animals that have been treated humanely? Why or why not? Have you or people you know changed diets to avoid eating animal products? How does the production of different foods impact carbon dioxide emissions and climate change? Could artificial intelligence algorithms like this one help us understand the animal world? How could it help to know what one animal is communicating to another?