Create a civilization out of our domesticated animals - The Dolittle plan

Human civilization really took off when individuals started to interact with each other, in language and trade and settlements. The transition from stone age to our space faring civilization of today wasn't as much a matter of sudden genetic mutation as it was a social organization realizing a latent potential. I hope there're no big disagreements about that so far.

Regard dogs. Very social and somewhat malleable domesticated animals as we have bred them. What if we taught them to "speak" with each other? Not teach them to speak with us (like Dolittle), which all dog training to date seems to focus on. But to use our technology to create dog-to-dog-adapted multimedia user interfaces to facilitate the dogs' communication with each other. Creating a dog language for dog use. Even if we might not understand all of what they chat with each other using it. For them to create their own civilization on their conditions here among us.

The dog-communicating civilization, as far as I think I know dogs, would probably focus on territory claims and social status and sex and food. There's no end to their interest in those topics (nor is it to ours). But who knows, maybe their perfect sense of smell and excellent hearing could contribute a for us completely new view of the world and even of concepts like mathematics, which humans developed out of geometry because our visual and spacial senses dominate. The dogs' civilization might surprise us in unforeseen ways. It might revolutionize social sciences more likely than natural sciences.

Is it feasible to create a dogs' (or some other species') civilization by teaching them how to better communicate with each other?

posted over 7 years ago

LocalFluff‭

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