Can AI help you talk to your pet? China’s Baidu wants to turn barks and meows into human language

Imagine your dog telling you they’re lonely, or your cat expressing disdain not just with a hiss, but in plain English. That sci-fi fantasy could soon become reality thanks to Chinese tech behemoth Baidu, which is aiming to decode the language of animals using artificial intelligence. In a move that sounds straight out of a futuristic novel—or a Pixar movie—the Beijing-based company has filed a patent to translate barks, meows, grunts, and even body language into human speech.

The Race to Decode the Animal Kingdom

Baidu’s ambitious project…