CapuchinAI system enables cognitive studies of monkeys in the wild

Scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence system called ‘CapuchinAI’ to study the cognition of white-faced capuchin monkeys in their natural habitat. Traditionally, primate cognitive research has been conducted in restrictive laboratory settings with captive animals. This new model aims to shift that paradigm by bringing testing directly into the wild.

Tested at the Taboga Forest Reserve in Costa Rica, the system uses facial recognition to identify individual monkeys with 97% accuracy. Once identified, the primates interact with a touchscreen to complete tasks in exchange for food rewards, such as bananas. Researchers observed that the monkeys quickly learned the association between touching the screen and receiving food.

The study, published in the ‘American Journal of Primatology’, also highlighted individual behavioral differences; some monkeys learned the tasks rapidly, while others preferred to observe their peers before interacting with the device. Future research phases will involve software capable of adapting tasks to the specific cognitive levels of individual monkeys.