Must not be a lot to do over in Hungary since scientists are busy at work building a computer that will enable humans to communicate with dogs, according to a Reuters story.
Budapest’s ELTE University have tested software which distinguishes the emotional reaction of 14 dogs of the Hungarian Mudi herding breed to six situations: When the dog is alone, when it sees a ball, it fights, it plays, it encounters a stranger or it goes for a walk.
Really? Couldn’t they be working on things like helping deaf people hear or mutes speak? I’ve got a dog and I don’t need a computer to tell me what his emotions are 99% of the time. If he sees a stanger, he barks at them. If he’s happy, his tail wags like it’s about to fly off. If he’s hurt, he yelps. When he sees a cat in the back yard, he growls and barks. Same thing for when representatives from a Democrat’s presidential campaign came to the door (I’ve got him well trained.) The Hungarian scientists say that people recognized the emotional response of a dog 40% of the time based on the sound of a bark, while the computer scored 43% of the time. Three percentage points? That’s a rounding error. What would really be helpful is if they could develop a computer that allowed the dog to understand humans. Sure, you can say “treat” or “go for a walk” and the dog gets happy, but start yelling things like “Don’t pee on the couch” and they dog is clueless. That would be some serious science if the computer could get the dog to listen properly.
