Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagDog intelligence

border-collie-puppies-stockpack-adobe-stock
Border Collie puppies
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 15, 2022
Categorized
Biology, Natural Intelligence
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Can a Dog Be Bred To Be As Smart As a Human?

An enterprising electrical engineer thinks it can be done
Denyse O'Leary
December 15, 2022
7
Biology, Natural Intelligence

Within one hundred generations or roughly 600 years? That’s the project Payton Pearson, an electrical engineer who gives his affiliation as the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio, has set himself: Artificial selection is a well-known phenomenon of selecting for certain physiological characteristics of various species of plants and animals, and it is something that human beings have been doing for thousands of years. A perfect example of this is the union and development of dogs under human stewardship since the beginning of the agricultural era of society. In that time, approximately 6,000 years [1], dogs have been artificially selected in such a way as to produce thousands of different breeds. From the stout Dachshund, a dog breed Read More ›

the-new-caledonian-crow-bird-on-the-tree-raven-in-tropical-jungle-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
The New Caledonian crow bird on the tree. Raven in tropical jungle
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
February 17, 2021
Categorized
Natural Intelligence
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We Knew Crows Were Smart But They Turn Out To Be Even Smarter

We are only beginning to scratch the surface of the mysteries of animal intelligence
Denyse O'Leary
February 17, 2021
5
Natural Intelligence

Recently, some researchers have claimed that crows — already known to be smart — are even conscious: Nieder’s experiment showed that the birds were actively evaluating how to solve a particular problem they were confronted with. In effect, they were thinking it over. This ability to consciously assess a problem is associated with the cerebral cortex in the brains of humans. But birds have no cerebral cortex. Nieder found that in crows, thinking occurs in the pallium—the layers of gray and white matter covering the upper surface of the cerebrum in vertebrates. Other studies support the notion that the bird brain can, in principle, support the development of higher intelligence. This idea had been dismissed in the past due to Read More ›

dog-playing-the-shell-game-with-her-human-concept-of-training-pets-domestic-dogs-being-smart-and-educated-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Dog playing the shell game with her human. Concept of training pets, domestic dogs being smart and educated
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 5, 2020
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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In What Ways Are Dogs Intelligent?

There is no human counterpart to some types of dog intelligence
Denyse O'Leary
August 5, 2020
8
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

At Gizmodo recently, George Dvorsky adopted the useful, though somewhat unusual, strategy of determining dog intelligence by focusing on what dogs can’t do. He starts with the premise, as put by University of Exeter psychology professor (and dog expert) Stephen Lea, who says that domestication “has radically altered the intelligence of dogs.” Not so much raised or lowered it as changed its nature from the type of intelligence we would expect from a wolf: “Dogs are very good at what they’re bred to do — they’re excellent at doing those things, and in some cases even better than other species we think are intelligent, such as chimps and bonobos,” Zachary Silver, a PhD student from the Comparative Cognitive Lab at Read More ›