Is progress in autonomous technology gated by research in animal communication?
Research in animal communications conjures up images of Jane Goodall studying the great apes in Tanzania. Indeed, a great deal of research in the field is on higher level functions such as social interactions, animal cognition, or even emotional life. However, underneath all the higherlevel functions, there is a much more basic elemental aspect of intelligence consisting of simply surviving in the physical world. This capability seems to be so innate that there is little research on its basic functionality. What are the key characteristics of this capability?