Amazing as it is it is still only a feat of memory. Ayumu does not comprehend the meaning behind the symbols that he is clicking in sequence.
He knows that if he clicks the symbols in the order he has learned them he will earn a food reward.
Amazing? Yes. Intelligence behind it? No [not in the way that would allow human <-> ape conversation]
Maybe this research tell us more about human gamers than apes?
Well, duh. They're trapped in a 'room' all day with the same repetitive stuff to do. Office job, only you get to eat bugs out of your cute co-workers hair."Unfortunately, captive great apes often exhibit behavioural signs of boredom, frustration and stress," says Fay Clark from the Royal Veterinary College's Centre for Animal Welfare.
Overall, isn't this just a more complicated skinner box? It's not as if the ape knows what numbers actually are. Just that 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 gives it a treat. It's just "Poke that shape."
If the chimp understood the concept of numbers, I'd be more inclined to be impressed. Stop giving it 1-9 and instead (with no gradual change) whack it into a sequence much bigger, with larger numbers, and gaps.
17-24-50-93-107
Sure, I doubt the chimp will have the same speed but if you can prove you've actually taught it something and not just conditioned a response, then we'll have something remarkable.
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