That’s the premise of research by Denise Herzing, the founder and director of the Wild Dolphin Project. Herzing first began thinking about how the marine mammals communicate while on a 1985 trip to the Bahamas to study Atlantic spotted dolphins after hearing their telltale clicks and whistles. It’s been a 40-year wait, but AI is finally allowing Herzing to untangle what dolphins are saying, she told the audience at WIRED World Fair.