In April 2024, Lightkeepers facilitated an interdisciplinary workshop spearheaded by Interspecies Internet (IIO) in collaboration with the Santa Fe Institute and XPRIZE, for the workshop Animals in Translation: Imagining Criteria and Frameworks for Decoding Communication in Other Species. The two-day workshop brought together 40 leading experts to develop a set of criteria to decode animal communication. These statements/criteria will guide the design of a future XPRIZE competition in their Biodiversity and Conservation focus area.
The dynamic exchange of ideas and knowledge on topics ranging from barriers to decoding, methodology and evidence, research ethics, and animal welfare were documented by Lightkeepers and Interspecies Internet in a workshop report, tapping into an historic brain trust of researchers from linguistics, animal cognition and communication, and animal behaviorists.
Groundbreaking insights into the full spectrum of animal life may also inspire a shift in the way we perceive, empathize, and treat other species and embolden a broader cultural commitment to valuing and conserving the biodiversity of life.