“Everything resonates in Nature and technology is helping us to listen”

Coral and fish larvae that orient themselves with the unique sounds produced by the coral reef, tomato plants that emit different acoustic signals according to their thirst: thanks to bioacoustics and increasingly refined technological tools, scientists can now hear the sounds of nature. But what are the ethical implications of increasingly advanced interspecies communication? The central question is that Karen Bakera scholar of digital innovation and environmental governance, poses in her book The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plantscurrently being translated and published also in Italy.

The book is having great success and, thanks to the time zones, organizing a meeting with the Canadian author is almost a feat, busy as she is between conferences and readings. Looking forward to having you as a guest at Italian Tech Week next September in Turin, the interview will take place online.

What has changed in scientific research thanks to ecoacoustics and bioacoustics?
“Eco and bioacoustics are helping us to analyze the health of non-human species in a very complete way and with relatively low costs. In particular, they help us to better understand the extent of our impact on Nature and to verify whether our conservation strategies and increase in biodiversity are effective. Again, in listening to the sounds of Nature we can realize the enormous damage of noise pollution, which is much worse for non-humans than we have thought up to now. It is a new threat, which must be tackled with determination as soon as possible”.

In his previous work, Water teachings, has collaborated with scholars and members of Indigenous communities across Canada. In The Sounds of Life reiterates that collaboration with native communities is also essential for eco and bioacoustics. Why?
“Thanks to them we can put together what in my book I call thedigital listening With the’deep listening. The first is the type of listening developed by scientists and is a powerful lens through which to observe the non-human world, a dangerous lens too, because it allows us to spy, to eavesdrop on what happens in nature, but without necessarily taking care of it. Instead, deep listening is what indigenous communities have always practiced, an intimate understanding, which has made them capable of developing relationships with certain non-human species and specific places in a responsible way. Deep listening is the basis of the awareness that there is an ethic of responsibility towards those places and those species, it is the basis on which traditional knowledge is based, a set of knowledge which, while not using technologies, have been able to reveal very very much. Of course we must not “recolonize” indigenous knowledge, nor simplify cultures that are very complex, but we must consider them as an essential complement to scientific knowledge”.

Can you give us an example?
“There is an approach called “two-eye vision”, in practice the lens of science is used with one eye and that of indigenous knowledge with the other, which together ensure greater understanding, but also greater empathy with what is observed”.

His book tells of many cases where both indigenous knowledge and the first discoveries of bioacoustics have been met with skepticism. Does it also happen to you in the many presentations?
“No, the material on which the book is based is so verified and consolidated that even the most skeptical have to surrender to the evidence that the sounds of Nature are many. Placing digital microphones all over the planet, from the depths of the ocean, to the “Arctic and Amazonian, scientists are discovering the hidden sounds of nature, many of which occur at ultrasonic or infrasonic frequencies, above or below the human hearing range. Digital bioacoustics helps us hear these sounds, functioning as a hearing aid on a planetary scale and going beyond the limits of our sensory capabilities. With the help of artificial intelligence, researchers are now decoding the complex communications of other species. In my text I tell all this citing over 4 thousand articles scientific studies and the book was in turn reviewed by Science”.

What is the dark side of this enormous scientific advance?
“These technologies, like all technologies in general, can be used as tools for good, or as weapons. They could enhance precision hunting, or be used to tame or manipulate other species, and these are just some of the very realities that are run without an ethical reflection upstream. Intensive fishing or hunters already use many technologies connected with bioacoustics, therefore we are not talking only about risks, but about facts. Nature is full of sound mysteries, of which the humans are only starting to gain consciousness, and scientists are trying to use these digital discoveries to develop tools for interspecies communication with creatures as diverse as bees and whales, raising ethical and philosophical questions.Do we have the right to eavesdrop on nonhumans and to collect data without their consent? Does the existence of complex communication in animals challenge the claim that only humans possess language? What are the risks of engaging other species in AI-mediated conversations, when we are aware of the biases built into AI systems? These are just some of the questions that need to be asked immediately.”

The Sounds of Life contains examples of these themes and technologies, as well as chronicling many discoveries that seem astounding. Is there one that is closest to your heart, among those you mentioned?
“Yes, my favorite is the story of the corals, because I find it remarkable that a species without a central nervous system, without hearing or sense organs in general can be so receptive to hear the sound of the coral reef and in addition distinguish between a reef in good health and one in a state of deterioration. I find it really amazing, it’s really my favorite story.”

What will his next book be?
“He will talk about my project “Smart Earth”, a work on how the tools of the digital age can be used to solve the challenges of the Anthropocene. It is a project on technological innovation and environmental governance, focused on the evolution of conservation in response to environmental sensing and emerging technologies I want to go beyond bioacoustics, to explore if there are other ways digital technologies can help us address the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, pollution and waste. The Sounds of Life it focused on one sector, but my understanding is that there are many other tools, especially artificial intelligence used responsibly, to address one of humanity’s worst crises.”

Do you think there are too many expectations with respect to artificial intelligence?
“For sure it is a very fashionable topic at the moment and expectations are often inflated, but without a doubt we cannot ignore the risks and advantages of this technology. ChatGPT is a good example, it could lead to misinformation, endorse prejudices and like any other technology it can be misused, but one of the things it does well is pattern recognition, that is, the analysis and identification of patterns within raw data, very important in audio and video data.Pattern recognition is a fundamental tool for conservation, so I see AI as a great opportunity.”

What is the major awareness that left her the job done for The Sounds Of Life?
“The ingrained belief that most likely every living species, every organism in Nature is sensitive to sound. This means that we need to completely rethink how we are looking at noise pollution. It is a huge danger for humans as well as for the environment, one of the worst threats to global health”.