This document is a review article on the use of Augmentative Interspecies Communication (AIC) devices in animal language studies. The authors, Gabriella E. Smith, Amalia P. M. Bastos, Ashley Evenson, Leo Trottier, and Federico Rossano, discuss the controversies and successes in the field.
The use of AIC devices, such as lexigrams, magnetic chips, and keyboards, in animal language studies has sparked many debates. Three main concerns dominate the field. Firstly, the claim that animals using AIC devices demonstrate linguistic skills is unclear, with simpler alternative mechanisms like associative learning being proposed. Secondly, some argue that the methodology may be inappropriate as AIC device interfaces may not be ecologically relevant enough to encourage meaningful use. Lastly, the data from these studies may be considered unreliable due to potential cueing from experimenters and a lack of systematic reporting of training and performance.
Despite these controversies, which led to a decline in the field towards the end of the 20th century, the research has also seen significant successes. These include improvements in the welfare of captive animals, which hold promise for future work in interspecies communication. The article falls under the category of the Evolution of Language in Linguistics.
Summary made by Quivr/GPT-4
This document is a review article on the use of Augmentative Interspecies Communication (AIC) devices in animal language studies. The authors, Gabriella E. Smith, Amalia P. M. Bastos, Ashley Evenson, Leo Trottier, and Federico Rossano, discuss the controversies and successes in the field.
The use of AIC devices, such as lexigrams, magnetic chips, and keyboards, in animal language studies has sparked many debates. Three main concerns dominate the field. Firstly, the claim that animals using AIC devices demonstrate linguistic skills is unclear, with simpler alternative mechanisms like associative learning being proposed. Secondly, some argue that the methodology may be inappropriate as AIC device interfaces may not be ecologically relevant enough to encourage meaningful use. Lastly, the data from these studies may be considered unreliable due to potential cueing from experimenters and a lack of systematic reporting of training and performance.
Despite these controversies, which led to a decline in the field towards the end of the 20th century, the research has also seen significant successes. These include improvements in the welfare of captive animals, which hold promise for future work in interspecies communication. The article falls under the category of the Evolution of Language in Linguistics.