Photos: James Duncan Davidson

The internet connects people all over the world. But could the internet also connect us with dolphins, apes, elephants and other highly intelligent species?

In a bold talk in Session 10 of TED2013, four incredible thinkers come together to launch the idea of the interspecies internet. Each takes four minutes to talk, then passes the metaphorical baton, building the narrative in parts.

The talk begins with Diana Reiss, a cognitive psychologist who studies intelligence in animals. She shows us a video of an adorable dolphin twirling in the water. But the dolphin isn’t spinning playfully for the camera — the dolphin is watching itself in a two-way mirror.

“A dolphin has self-awareness,” says Reiss. “We used to think this was a uniquely human quality, but dolphins aren’t the only non-human animals to show self-recognition in a mirror. Great apes, our closest relatives, also show this ability.” Ditto for elephants and even magpies.

Reiss shares her work with dolphins — she’s been teaching them to communicate through an underwater keyboard of symbols that correspond to whistles and playful activities. Through this keyboard, the dolphins learned to perform activities on demand, and also to express their desire for them. (For more on how a similar dolphin keyboard works, read up on Denise Herzing’s talk from earlier today.)

“You can’t get more alien than the dolphin. We’re separated by 95 million years of divergent evolution. These are true non-terrestrials,” says Reiss. “This self-organized learning, the same thing we heard from TED Prize winner Sugata Mitra. I’m suggesting this is our Hole in the Water.”

Reiss was conducting this work on her own. And then she got a call from iconic musician Peter Gabriel.

“I make noises for a living, and on a good day it’s music,” says Gabriel. He has always looked into the eyes of animals and wondered what is going on inside their heads, he says, soe excitedly read about research, like Reiss’, examining communication with animals.

“What was amazing to me was that [the animals] seemed a lot more adept at getting a handle on our language than we were at getting a handle on theirs,” says Gabriel. “I work with a lot of musicians from around the world. Often we don’t have any common language at all. We sit behind our instruments and it’s a way to connect.”

So Gabriel started cold-calling scientists to see if he could be a part of this work. His goal: To try writing music with an animal. And he got his chance.

In a video clip that raises oohs and ahhs from audience, Gabriel shares a video of a bonobo with a keyboard. While bonobos had been introduced to percussion instruments before, and bashed them with their fists, this was the first time this bonobo had ever seen a keyboard. And with accompaniment, she played truly amazing music.

“She discovers a note she likes. She finds the octave,” says Gabriel, narrating the beautiful melody in the video. “We began to dream … What would happen if we could somehow find new interfaces – visual, audio — to allow us to communicate with the remarkable beings we share the planet with.”

Gabriel brought the video of this unusual jam session to Neil Gershenfeld, the Director of MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms.

“I lost it when I saw that clip,” says Gershenfeld, stepping up to the stage. “I was struck by the history of the internet, because it started as the internet of middle-aged white men … I realized that we humans had missed something — the rest of the planet.”

At this point, Gershenfeld video-conferenced in animals live — including orangutans in Waco, Texas, dolphins at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and elephants in Thailand.

Gershenfeld is known for his work in the internet of things. And he thinks animals can be a part of it, too. ”We’re starting to think about how you integrate the rest of the biomass of the planet into the internet,” he says.

Which brings us to Vint Cerf, who helped lay the foundations for the internet as we know it and is now vice president and Chief Internet Evangelist for  Google.

“Forty years ago we wrote the script of the internet. Thirty years ago we turned it on,” says Cerf. “We thought we were building a system to connect computers together. But we quickly learned that it’s a system for connecting people.”

“You know where this is going,” Cerf continues, to a laugh, bringing it back to research in communicating with animals. ”What’s important about what these people are doing: They’re beginning to learn how to communicate with species that are not us, but share a sensory environment. [They're figuring out] what it means to communicate with something that’s not a person. I can’t wait to see these experiments unfold.”

So what’s next? The internet of things, yes, and the ability for us to communicate with computers without keyboards and mice. And in addition to the internet of species, he even imagines an interplanetary internet.

“These interactions with other animals will teach us, ultimately, how we might interact with an alien from another world,” says Cerf. “I can hardly wait.”

Here, the speakers who appeared in this session. Click on their name to read a recap:

Ben Affleck, straight off his Argo Oscar victory, introduced the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste.

Diana Reiss studies cognition in animals and the evolution of intelligence. She and her colleagues demonstrated that bottlenose dolphins (and Asian elephants) can recognize themselves in the mirror.

Musician Peter Gabriel is the co-founder of WITNESS, which distributes digital cameras to empower people to document human-rights abuses. A founder of the band Genesis, Gabriel is now a solo artist and record mogul, championing world music and innovation.

As Director of MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms, Neil Gershenfeld explores the boundaries between the digital and physical worlds.

Computer scientist Vint Cerf helped lay the foundations for the internet as we know it.

Beijing-based artist Liu Bolin silently comments on modern sociopolitical conditions by dissolving into his art.

Lakshmi Pratury is the host of The INK Conference and was the co-host of TEDIndia in 2009. She talks about her new website, Billionaires of Moments.

Eleanor Longden overcame her misdiagnosis of schizophrenia to earn a master’s in psychology and demonstrate that the voices in her head were “a sane reaction to insane circumstances.”

Born in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee left for China in 1997. Now living in South Korea, she has become an activist for fellow refugees.

Shane Koyczan makes spoken-word poetry and music. His poem “To This Day” is a powerful story of bullying and survival, illustrated by animators from around the world.

We in the TED office still cannot quite believe that our website has seen a billion video views. To celebrate this milestone, we reached out to 24 top personalities in the fields of technology, entertainment and design, asking them to curate a playlist of the TED Talks they want the world to watch, stat. So far we’ve shared lists from Bill Gates, Glenn Close, Reggie Watts, Ben Affleck, Jill Bolte Taylor, Bono, Bobak Ferdowsi of NASA, Isaac Mizrahi, and Chinese newscaster Wang Lifen. Today, we have playlists from Peter Gabriel, Mikko Hypponen, and Barbra Streisand, who made her picks along with Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center.

In 2006, Peter Gabriel stepped on the TED stage to share why he co-founded the human rights watchdog group WITNESS, which empowers everyday people to film and document rights abuses and which highlights the work of citizen journalists around the globe. It’s a very powerful talk.

Considering how thrilling the video for “Sledgehammer” still feels, it’s hard to believe that it’s been more than 25 years since Gabriel’s classic album, So, was released. So we were curious: what TED Talks does Gabriel think will still be making waves in 25 years? Head to the playlist section to see his choices, from printing a human kidney to reinventing education >>

And two more talks Gabriel wants to make sure you watch: Steve Jobs’ “How to live before you die” and “John Lloyd inventories the invisible.”

Cybersecurity expert and two-time TED speaker Mikko Hypponen has spent his career fighting computer viruses. While most of his favorite talks seem very in line with his work, one stands out. Hypponen explains, “The talks I chose for my playlist are about technology, security or privacy. Because geeks. Then I added the talk from Dan Barber. Because fish.” Head to the playlist section to see his picks >>

Barbra Streisand may be an 8-time Grammy winner and notable actress, but she is also an advocate for women’s health who helped establish the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center. At TEDxWomen 2011, Streisand introduced the center’s director, Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz.

Dr. Merz writes, “Over the years, Barbra Streisand and I have partnered to help raise awareness about the need for gender-specific heart research and care. We were honored to participate at TEDxWomen to convey what we believe is the biggest health threat women face. Now, Barbra and I have partnered to share a selection of our favorite TED Talks, which shed light on cutting-edge advances in science and medicine and celebrate strong women who are making a positive impact in their communities and beyond. Additionally, Barbra has chosen some of her favorite talks, which highlight some of the issues she cares deeply about. We hope that you enjoy these talks by talented and inspiring individuals who encourage all of us to answer their call to action.” Head to the playlist section to watch their selections >>

And one other bonus talk that got Streisand and Merz very excited: Hillary Rodham Clinton’s surprise appearance at TEDWomen.

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Stay tuned to the TED Blog tomorrow for playlists from Dave Eggers, Stefan Sagmeister and Japanese musician Ryuchi Sakamoto. Special thanks to Mashable and iTunes for helping us share these playlists. Head to iTunes to download these lists as limited-edition podcasts and to Mashable see their exclusive additional lists from tech superstars.

And as always, we want to hear about the talks you love. This week, tweet a favorite playlist — or the name of talk that deeply resonated with you — using the hashtag #topTED.

Immediately after TEDGlobal 2009, a group of TEDsters took off for WOMAD at Charlton Park — the three-day world music festival founded by TED speaker Peter Gabriel (watch his talk from 2006). Sleeping in teepees, rocking all night … the pictures tell the story. Above, twilight bubbles, photographed by TED’s Lara Stein, director of the TEDx program.

Below, Peter Gabriel dropped by the TEDGlobal Internet Cafe tent. (Photo: Gary Shainberg)

At the Internet Cafe tent, Lara Stein hangs out with Cara Muñeca (in the pink wig). (Photo: Laura Galloway)

And of course: the music! Youssou N’Dour, Rokia Traoré (who played at TEDGlobal 2007), blues legend Solomon Burke … Lara’s picks: “Rachael Unthank and the Winterset was incredible! Hypnotic Brass Ensemble; Rokia, the Black Arm Band, Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan, Shlomo and the Vocal Orchestra. And of course Peter Gabriel…. And many more. There were 4 stages with acts playing from 11am-12 midnight.” (Photo: Laura Galloway)

He starts with a deeply moving personal story that may actually catch you off-guard. (Rives writes: “I play the first minute of this talk to my poetry students to teach them how to explain, charm, recollect and devastate.”) His point: the power of a story, and the act of building a visceral, personal connection to that story, can move mountains. Watch for astonishing video from the WITNESS project — shot by people from the most dangerous places and situations in our modern world.

Watch this talk >>

More: Over on BoingBoing.tv, Xeni Jardin has a fascinating interview this week with Grace Lile, a digital archivist from WITNESS.org.

Accepting the award on behalf of the TED community, Chris commented on some similarities between WITNESS and TED. Both sought ways to use technology as a force for good as the world gets ever more interconnected, he said:

“And we’re both in the business of nurturing new kinds of heroes for the 21st century. You’re turning technology-empowered story-tellers into heroic human rights activists. We’re trying to create a new form of hero called, for want of a better word … a teacher. One of the most thrilling aspects of the past couple years at TED has been giving a platform to people who have been doing amazing work all their lives, but who no one has really known about. Seeing their work and their ideas spreading to milllions of people around the globe courtesy of little 18-minute lectures captured on video and released on the Internet … now that’s exhilarating.”

Image: Chris Anderson of TED accepts his award from WITNESS founder Peter Gabriel. Photo courtesy Tom Rielly.

Through her writings and lectures, she has done perhaps more than anyone else to explain, both to the healthy and the stricken, what a stroke is.

Read the whole list >>

+ Share Ron Eglash‘s cool math tools, for studying math via breakdancing, Latin beats and cornrow braids
+ Dive into Richard Baraniuk‘s Connexions, a massive repository of open-source class materials
+ Visit Phil Borges‘ Bridges to Understanding site, which rounds up student films from all over the world
+ Browse Erin McKean‘s booklist “So You Want to Be a Lexicographer?“
+ Check out the beta of Gapminder World, powered by Hans Rosling‘s Trendalyzer software
+ Watch video and take action at The Hub, a platform for human rights media and action — presented by Peter Gabriel‘s WITNESS
+ Discuss sustainable design and materials on the Cradle to Cradle forums, inspired by the work of William McDonough
+ Learn more about Nicholas Negroponte‘s One Laptop per Child
+ Catch up with Majora Carter‘s Sustainable South Bronx — or make a specific gift to SSBx via Changing the Present
+ Calculate your personal CO2 production — and start helping the planet — at the website for Al Gore‘s An Inconvenient Truth, produced by Jeff Skoll

TEDTalks is full of ideas for making change for oneself and for others — many more than we can list here. Please share your suggestions for other TEDTalks-inspired change!

Another documentary about TED, "The future we will create: Inside the world of TED", which was filmed at TED2006, is been shown this coming Saturday night at the Maui Film Festival. Producers Daphne Zuniga and Steven Latham got full access to the conference, and used it wisely to take the viewers behind the scenes — on top of showing speakers ranging from Al Gore to Peter Gabriel. The full-feature documentary (74 minutes) had a premiere screening in New York a few weeks ago and later in Los Angeles. It has been released on Netflix (US only) last week.