Irene Pepperberg
Nonhuman Intelligence: Where we Are and Where We're Headed
Futurists like to predict how genetic engineering and computational implants will allow humans to become a super-species, but what about the application of similar technologies to nonhumans? First, however, shouldn’t we examine their current cognitive and physical capacities? How can we improve upon what we don’t yet fully understand? Second, what would we do with more intelligent creatures harness them to do more of our work or treat them more as equals? Finally, we already have many conflicting views on the legal status of animals in our society what happens if we endow them with more human characteristics? Might such animals provide a testing ground for humanity's ability to interact humanely with animal-like and ultimately human-like machines?
