In a groundbreaking development, artificial intelligence (AI) has enabled a 20-minute conversation between humans and a humpback whale, marking a significant milestone in interspecies communication. This extraordinary encounter, which took place off the Alaskan coast, has opened up new possibilities for understanding marine life and even searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.

The rigid structures of language we once clung to with certainty are cracking. Take gender, nationality or religion: these concepts no longer sit comfortably in the stiff linguistic boxes of the last century. Simultaneously, the rise of AI presses upon us the need to understand how words relate to meaning and reasoning.