PhD by Antoine Bertin

“The microscope enabled humans to see anew, with both our eyes and our imaginations. Digital acoustics are an invention of similar significance. Like the microscope, they function like a scientific prosthetic: as they extend our sense of hearing, they expand our perceptual and conceptual horizons.” — Karen Bakker

Aquatic Conversations delves into the transformative potential of sound and machine learning technologies for understanding and protecting the ocean, offering a novel perspective rooted in the practice of listening in, with and after marine ecosystems.

Often perceived as a “silent world,” the ocean is in fact a vibrant acoustic environment, where a myriad of aquatic species engage in complex communication. As this Phd project proposes, the development of new underwater listening approaches, focused on the decoding of aquatic conversations, investigates a novel approach to devising sustainable relations with the ocean, by creating opportunities for marine species to be heard in the human world.

Building on hybrid ways of experiencing the ocean, this research embrace a holistic view of what sound may be in the ocean, beyond the range of human perception and what is is usually understood as on land. Aquatic Conversations  explores the framework of machine listening to extend human listening and enhance our ability to understand and communicate with marine beings. Machine listening technologies transcend the limitations of human hearing, searching vast and intricate acoustic data for intelligible patterns that deepen our understanding of marine life through sound. These digital listening tools not only open new avenues for potential interspecies communication, but also yield tools and insights for the conservation of marine ecosystems.

Aquatic Conversations combines the development of underwater listening practices, the prototyping of AI-driven interspecies interfaces, and the creation of sound compositions, to bring to life immersed and immersive experiences that connect humans with the ocean’s sounds. Drawing from the practice of scuba diving to develop “non-terrestrial” ways of listening, this practice-based research weaves together technological advancement with behavioural science and conservation knowledge to develop new forms of art-driven ecological engagement.