Great apes and crows do not plan like humans: researchers say they make plans "without thinking"



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Crows and great apes may not be as smart as we think.

The researchers found that even though they are able to plan, there is no need to think.

Instead, they can make plans instinctively through previous experiences.

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Swedish researchers have discovered that great apes such as Colo, a silverback gorilla from the Columbus Zoo, and other great apes and crows, can do projects without thinking, but rather using past experiences.

Swedish researchers have discovered that great apes such as Colo, a silverback gorilla from the Columbus Zoo, and other great apes and crows, can do projects without thinking, but rather using past experiences.

Swedish researchers have discovered that great apes such as Colo, a silverback gorilla from the Columbus Zoo, and other great apes and crows, can do projects without thinking, but rather using past experiences.

"Some researchers have suggested that planning in great apes and crows develops by thinking, that they simulate future scenarios and make decisions based on such mental simulations," said Johan Lind, Associate Professor of Science. Ethology at the Center for Cultural Evolution of the University of Stockholm, author. of the study.

"My study shows that behavioral planning and self-control in non-human animals can instead emerge through associative learning."

Recently developed learning models, similar to those of artificial intelligence research, have shown how planning in crows and great apes can develop through previous experiences without the need for reflection.

The researchers developed a new mathematical model of animal learning, similar to that of artificial intelligence research, and fed it according to scenarios similar to those used for the crows and great apes in several planning studies.

The computer simulations showed that the learning model, unable to think or simulate future scenarios, was able to learn how to plan as well as the animals did in the experiments.

The team says that the study could mean that we overestimated the abilities of the crows

The team says that the study could mean that we overestimated the abilities of the crows

The team says that the study could mean that we overestimated the abilities of the crows

This model is also able to learn self-control.

He can learn to ignore small, immediate food rewards for choosing, for example, a tool that can only be used after a long time.

But after a long delay, the tool can be used to obtain an important food reward.

"We know today that similar learning models as part of artificial intelligence research can learn to play board games and beat human players," Lind said. .

"However, these types of learning patterns are often ignored in the study of animal cognition.

"Animals often learn from their experiences, helping them to survive in often hostile and competitive places," Johan Lind said.

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