Just like most people, I have been using AI more and more in recent months. Tonight, I decided to ask Grok (X’s AI platform) about my favorite living creature, the FL Scrub Jay. And while the conversation started off fun and entertaining at first, it all came crashing down at the end.
I first inquired about how smart the bird is in comparison to other familiar animals. Here are the results of that conversation (some parts edited out because of redundancy or lack of relevancy).
First, I asked AI to create a simple model for analyzing intelligence in animals and asked it to apply it to the Florida Scrub Jay. Here is what it returned:
“To assign an Animal Intelligence Index (AII) score to the Florida scrub jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), I’ll use the hypothetical framework I created, scoring the species on five cognitive traits—Problem-Solving, Social Intelligence, Memory, Communication, and Self-Awareness—each on a scale of 0–20, for a total possible score of 100. The scores are based on available research, particularly studies on corvid and jay cognition, such as those published in Animal Behaviour and The Auk (e.g., Bednekoff & Balda, 1996, on scrub jay caching). Here’s the breakdown:
Florida Scrub Jay AII
- Problem-Solving: 15/20
- Florida scrub jays demonstrate strong problem-solving skills, particularly in food caching. Studies show they can select optimal cache sites and adjust strategies based on environmental factors. They’re less adept at complex tool use compared to ravens but excel in context-specific tasks like seed storage.
- Social Intelligence: 16/20
- These jays live in cooperative family groups, with non-breeding helpers assisting in raising young and defending territory. Research from Archbold Biological Station highlights their ability to recognize kin and coordinate group defense, indicating sophisticated social behavior, though not as complex as some primate or dolphin systems.
- Memory: 18/20
- Florida scrub jays are renowned for their spatial memory, crucial for recovering cached acorns across large territories. Studies (e.g., Animal Cognition, 2001) show they can remember thousands of cache locations over months, rivaling other corvids like Clark’s nutcrackers.
- Communication: 14/20
- They use a variety of vocalizations (e.g., alarm calls, contact calls) and body signals to coordinate group activities and warn of predators. Their communication is less varied than ravens’ but effective for their cooperative lifestyle, per ethological observations.
- Self-Awareness: 12/20
- There’s no definitive evidence that Florida scrub jays pass the mirror test, but corvids like magpies show some self-recognition, suggesting potential in related species. Their ability to adjust caching behavior based on the presence of others hints at a basic theory of mind, but it’s not fully confirmed.
Total AII: 75/100″
I asked Grok to compare the FSJ to other animals
“Black Labrador Retriever (AII Rating)
- Problem-Solving: 12/20
- Labs are capable problem-solvers, excelling in tasks like navigating obstacles or learning trained behaviors (e.g., retrieving). Studies, like those from the Duke Canine Cognition Center, show dogs perform well in simple puzzles but rarely use tools, unlike corvids or cephalopods. Less advanced than the scrub jay’s caching strategies (15/20).
- Social Intelligence: 17/20
- Labs are highly social, forming strong bonds with humans and other dogs. Research (e.g., Behavioural Processes, 2016) highlights their ability to read human gestures, like pointing, and cooperate in pack-like settings. This is slightly more advanced than the scrub jay’s cooperative breeding groups (16/20) due to human-oriented social skills.
- Memory: 14/20
- Labs have good short-term memory for commands and locations, with some evidence of long-term memory for trained tasks (e.g., recognizing owners after separation). However, their memory is less specialized than the scrub jay’s exceptional spatial memory for thousands of cache sites (18/20).
- Communication: 13/20
- Labs use barks, whines, and body language (e.g., tail wagging) to communicate needs and emotions. Some can learn to recognize dozens of words or signals, per studies like those by Stanley Coren. This is comparable to the scrub jay’s vocal and gestural communication (14/20), though less complex than the parrot’s near-human speech (19/20).
- Self-Awareness: 8/20
- Dogs, including Labs, generally don’t pass the mirror test, suggesting limited self-awareness. Some studies (e.g., Scientific Reports, 2016) propose dogs may have basic self-recognition via scent, but it’s less clear than the scrub jay’s tentative theory-of-mind hints (12/20).
Total AII: 64/100″
House Cat (AII rating)
- Problem-Solving: 13/20
- Cats demonstrate problem-solving in tasks like navigating environments or opening containers for food, as shown in studies (e.g., Behavioural Processes, 2017). They can learn through trial and error but rarely use tools, unlike corvids. This is slightly better than the Lab’s puzzle-solving (12/20) but below the scrub jay’s caching strategies (15/20).
- Social Intelligence: 12/20
- Domestic cats are semi-social, forming bonds with humans and other cats but lacking the complex group dynamics of scrub jays or dogs. Research (e.g., Bradshaw’s Cat Sense, 2013) shows they read human cues (e.g., gaze) to a lesser extent than dogs (17/20) and are less cooperative than scrub jays’ family groups (16/20).
- Memory: 14/20
- Cats have good short-term memory for hunting and navigation, with some long-term recall (e.g., recognizing familiar humans after months), per studies like those in Journal of Comparative Psychology (2015). This matches the Lab’s memory (14/20) but is less specialized than the scrub jay’s cache-recovery memory (18/20).
- Communication: 14/20
- Cats use meows, purrs, and body language (e.g., tail position) to communicate with humans and other cats, with meowing often tailored to human interaction. Studies (e.g., Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2019) suggest cats’ vocalizations are more flexible than dogs’ (13/20) and comparable to scrub jays’ varied calls (14/20).
- Self-Awareness: 9/20
- Cats show no clear evidence of passing the mirror test, suggesting limited self-awareness, similar to dogs (8/20). Some studies hint at basic self-recognition in specific contexts (e.g., scent-based), but it’s less developed than the scrub jay’s potential theory-of-mind behaviors (12/20).
Total AII: 62/100
Other Animals
“Common Raven (Also a Corvid like the Florida Scrub Jay):
- Problem-Solving: 18/20 (solves multi-step puzzles, uses tools like sticks).
- Social Intelligence: 16/20 (complex social hierarchies, cooperative hunting).
- Memory: 17/20 (can remember human faces and cache locations for months).
- Communication: 15/20 (varied vocalizations, mimicry of sounds).
- Self-Awareness: 14/20 (passes mirror test in some studies).
- AII: 80/100
Bottlenose Dolphin:
- Problem-Solving: 16/20 (uses sponges as tools, solves simple tasks).
- Social Intelligence: 19/20 (tight-knit pods, cooperative hunting strategies).
- Memory: 18/20 (long-term social memory, recognizes individuals after years).
- Communication: 18/20 (complex whistles, clicks, and body language).
- Self-Awareness: 18/20 (consistently passes mirror test).
- AII: 89/100″
Now the Bad Part
At the end of our little chat I asked Grok if it thought the Florida Scrub Jay would go extinct. It listed the usual facts about there being only 3,000-5,000 birds left in existence and the struggles the bird faces to stay on this planet. But then I asked it this:
“In a simple yes or no answer will the Florida Scrub Jay be extinct in 50 years?”
AI Response: “Yes”
My heart is aching
~ Brad
