Why would Google train an AI to talk to dolphins? That’s not a question you hear every day, and yet it’s exactly the kind of headline that sums up what might be the most unpredictable, chaotic, and fascinating week in artificial intelligence so far this year. Not only are researchers now attempting to decode animal communication using lightweight neural networks, but we also saw humanoid robots run a literal half marathon, AI tools that can animate pets into dancers or bring comic panels to life with one click, and OpenAI launching its most intelligent models yet. Every one of these stories raises a unique question—why now, how does it work, and what does this mean for the future of interaction, creativity, and intelligence itself? That one question about dolphin conversations unravels into many more, and the only way to make sense of them is to follow each trail to its surprising conclusion.
