The Cetacean Translation Initiative is doing a similar thing with whales. That one is scary to me.
I remember hearing that one researcher joked that the worst case scenario is that whales end up being really boring. That's not true. The worst case scenario is that we decode their language and realize that they're all constantly screaming in pain and terror.
Of course, for the Star Trek nerds, the real worst case scenario is that we discover that they have a complex language, they use it to speak to aliens, they have no chance of surviving rising ocean temps, and the aliens are coming back soon!
I remember hearing that one researcher joked that the worst case scenario is that whales end up being really boring. That's not true. The worst case scenario is that we decode their language and realize that they're all constantly screaming in pain and terror.