Emergent communication, or emergent language, is the field of research which studies how human language-like communication systems emerge de novo in deep multi-agent reinforcement learning environments. The possibilities of replicating the emergence of a complex behavior like language have strong intuitive appeal, yet it is necessary to complement this with clear notions of how such research can be applicable to other fields of science, technology, and engineering. This paper comprehensively reviews the applications of emergent communication research across machine learning, natural language processing, linguistics, and cognitive science. Each application is illustrated with a description of its scope, an explication of emergent communication's unique role in addressing it, a summary of the extant literature working towards the application, and brief recommendations for near-term research directions.

翻译：涌现通信，或称涌现语言，是研究在深度多智能体强化学习环境中如何从零开始形成类人语言通信系统的研究领域。复制语言这类复杂行为的涌现过程具有强烈的直观吸引力，但必须辅以清晰的概念，阐明此类研究如何能应用于科学、技术和工程的其他领域。本文全面综述了涌现通信研究在机器学习、自然语言处理、语言学和认知科学中的应用。针对每项应用，本文阐述了其研究范围，解释了涌现通信在解决该问题中的独特作用，总结了致力于该应用的现有文献，并简要提出了近期研究方向建议。