The Sounds of Intelligence: A Conversation with 2026 Drake Award Recipient Lori Marino

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) often directs humanity’s attention toward distant stars and radio telescopes scanning the cosmos. But some of the most important insights into intelligence may already exist here on Earth, in the oceans, among species whose minds evolved along pathways profoundly different from our own.

In a recent SETI Live conversation, SETI Institute President and CEO Bill Diamond sat down with Dr. Lori Marino, the founder of the Whale Sanctuary Project and the 2026 Drake Award recipient. The award honors scientists whose work has significantly advanced humanity’s understanding of life and intelligence in the universe. Dr. Marino’s career has focused on the evolution of cetacean brains and cognition in whales and dolphins.

During the conversation, Dr. Marino discussed how whales and dolphins offer scientists an opportunity to study forms of intelligence that evolved independently of those in primates over millions of years. Diamond and Dr. Marino also explored how non-human intelligence (NHI) on Earth may influence humanity's approach to the possibility of intelligence elsewhere in the universe.

The Evolution of the Cetacean Brain

Dr. Marino described how her fascination with cetaceans began while studying dolphin brains as a graduate student. A photograph of a dolphin brain in a library book immediately caught her attention, not because it resembled a human brain, but because it didn’t.

These brains were highly elaborate and deeply complex, yet they evolved separately from primate brains for roughly 100 million years. That evolutionary distance makes whales and dolphins especially important for understanding how intelligence can emerge in very different biological forms.

One example discussed during the conversation was animal culture among orcas, the largest members of the dolphin family. Orcas do not simply rely on instinct; they grow up within distinct cultures that dictate their survival strategies, social structures, and vocalizations. Different populations maintain distinct vocal dialects, hunting strategies, and social traditions that are passed across generations through learning. Young whales spend years acquiring the knowledge needed to survive within their groups, much like human children learn language and social behavior.

Dr. Marino emphasized that many of the traits humans once considered uniquely our own are increasingly being identified across the animal kingdom. Culture, planning, cooperation, social learning, and even forms of imagination are no longer viewed as exclusively human capacities.

The discussion emphasized that intelligence may emerge differently depending on an animal’s environment, social structure, and evolutionary history.

“We’re a pretty smart ape,” she remarked during the discussion, challenging the long-standing framework of human exceptionalism.

Decoding Communication with AI and Information Theory

Researchers studying whale and dolphin communication are increasingly turning to information theory, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to better understand non-human communication systems. Rather than immediately attempting to “translate” whale songs or dolphin clicks, scientists first ask a more fundamental question: does the communication contain structure?

Researchers compared this challenge to the way SETI scientists analyze potential extraterrestrial signals, first determining whether a signal contains organized information. “When you and I are talking, it’s not just a random sound,” Dr. Marino explained. “There’s organization there.”

AI has accelerated this work dramatically. Machine learning systems can process enormous acoustic datasets and detect patterns too subtle or complex for humans to identify on their own.

Similar analytical approaches are used in SETI research to distinguish between cosmic background noise and a structured signal that may contain information. Diamond and Dr. Marino also referenced ongoing efforts to study sperm whale clicks and humpback whale songs for recurring patterns and possible language-like structure.

The discussion highlighted similarities between studying cetacean communication and analyzing possible extraterrestrial signals, particularly in identifying whether patterns contain organized information.

Why Studying Whales in the Wild Matters

Another major theme of the conversation centered on the importance of studying whales and dolphins in their natural environments rather than in captivity.

Captive studies can demonstrate what animals are capable of learning under human direction, but field research reveals what whales and dolphins actually choose to communicate to one another in daily life. “When you go out into the field and listen to natural communication,” Dr. Marino explained, “it has a veracity to it.”

That distinction matters because communication does not exist in isolation. In the wild, cetacean vocalizations emerge within family structures, hunting strategies, social bonds, and long-term cultural traditions.

The conversation emphasized that communication among whales and dolphins is closely connected to social relationships, cooperation, memory, learned behaviors, and group traditions. Dr. Marino noted that studying animals in the wild allows researchers to observe natural communication systems rather than the trained behaviors seen in captivity.

The Drake Equation and Non-Human Intelligence

The most profound connection between cetacean research and SETI is ethical. Diamond and Dr. Marino discussed the "technological adolescence" of humanity, the period in which a species develops the power to destroy itself or others before it develops the social maturity to prevent it.

Dr. Marino warned that our track record with "the other" on Earth is poor. We have historically treated non-human intelligences as resources or objects of curiosity rather than individuals with lives, families, and the capacity to suffer. She argued that the way humans treat non-human intelligence on Earth could influence humanity's response to the discovery of extraterrestrial life.

"How we treat other animals on this planet is going to reflect how we treat them if we find them on another planet," she said. If we cannot develop an ethic of respect and coexistence with the intelligences in our own oceans, we may be ill-prepared for the ethical challenges of discovering life on another planet.

The study of non-human intelligence is deeply intertwined with the Drake Equation, particularly the factors related to the emergence of intelligence and technological civilizations.

Researchers are increasingly using AI and machine learning tools to analyze whale and dolphin vocalizations, including sperm whale clicks and humpback whale songs, for patterns and structure. These efforts may help scientists better understand how intelligence can emerge and communicate in forms very different from human language.

The conversation between Bill Diamond and Dr. Lori Marino serves as a reminder that the "search for life" begins at home, emphasizing that studying communication and intelligence on Earth remains an important part of understanding how scientists might eventually recognize intelligence elsewhere in the cosmos.

Watch the full conversation here. Read the announcement.

Final questions

1. How might studying dolphin and whale communication improve the search for extraterrestrial intelligence?

By analyzing how non-human species on Earth communicate through sound, patterns, and social signals, researchers can develop better tools for recognizing intelligence that may not rely on human language. These insights could help SETI scientists identify meaningful signals hidden within cosmic data.

2. Why are whales and dolphins considered important models for non-human intelligence?

Cetaceans evolved large, complex brains independently of humans over millions of years. Their intelligence demonstrates that advanced cognition can emerge through very different evolutionary pathways, suggesting extraterrestrial intelligence may also develop in unexpected forms.

3. Could AI eventually translate whale or dolphin communication into human-understandable meaning?

Scientists hope AI and machine learning will eventually identify recurring structures, behavioral associations, and contextual clues in cetacean vocalizations. While a full “translation” remains uncertain, these technologies may reveal whether marine mammals use symbolic or language-like communication systems.