Comparative cognitive science: The 30 years of Ai project

Abstract

This paper aims to reflect the 30 years of Ai project that started in 1978. Ai project started as a sort of ape-language project. However, it was uniquely different from the previous studies in terms of the computer-interfaced system and the introduction of psychophysical measurement. The original version of Ai project may be summarized as an attempt to know the perceptual world of a nonhuman animal. It combined the psychological studies on learning and perception and utilized the language-like skill as a window through which we can access to the chimpanzee mind. This paper put the Ai project in a historical context, summed up the research results, showed the fieldwork on the wild chimpanzees, and illuminated the establishment and the perspective of a new discipline named Comparative Cognitive Science.