Pigeons as artificial intelligence? They checked and were surprised. “A small brain, but huge power”

Pigeons remember faces, see the world in colors, move along complex routes and, among other things, are used by humans as message deliverers. Scientists tested 24 pigeons. The birds were given a variety of visual tasks, some of which learned to categorize within a few days and others within a few weeks. Scientists have found evidence that the mechanism pigeons use to make good choices is similar to the method used by artificial intelligence models to make good predictions.

Pigeons as artificial intelligence? “We can see how far they can go.”

“The pigeons’ behavior suggests that nature has created an algorithm that is very effective at learning very difficult tasks,” said Edward Wasserman, co-author of the study and professor of experimental psychology at the University of Iowa. Pigeons were shown various images on the screen, such as lines of different widths, spacing and orientation, as well as cross-sections and concentric rings. Each bird had to peck at a button on the right or left side to decide which category it belonged to. If he guessed correctly, he received food. If he made a mistake, he got nothing.

During the experiments, the pigeons improved their ability to make the right choices from 55%. up to 95 percent cases when it comes to simpler tasks. In the case of a more complex challenge, the “accuracy” of their hits increased from 55%. up to 68 percent “We can test how far pigeons can go using a mind that we believe works exclusively or mostly associative,” said Onur Güntürkün, professor of behavioral neuroscience at the University of Bochum.

In the AI ​​model, the main goal is pattern recognition and decision making. Pigeons, as research shows, can do the same. The pigeons that were not given food showed a remarkable ability to correct their mistakes. “It is clear that the mechanisms present in artificial intelligence are also present in the pigeon,” said Brandon Turner, lead author of the study and professor of psychology at Ohio State University. In his opinion, pigeons learn “by trial and error.” – It’s a good brain. It may be small in size, but it has enormous power when it comes to the ability to learn, added Edward Wasserman, co-author of the study and professor of experimental psychology at the University of Iowa.

The researchers hope that these findings will have practical applications “in better understanding damage to the human brain.” The researchers emphasized that none of the birds were harmed during the experiment.