debates on animal intelligence are moot. intelligence isnt binary, a creature doesnt either "have it or not have it", its a continuation of levels.
object level: sensory impressions, in humans the tips of the nervous system, direct interface with the world (viruses, prions, computers)
subject level: neural substrate, in humans the primary sensory cortices, insula, posterier parietial cortex, subjective experience anchored in body schema
capability level: potential actions a subject can take upon objects, in humans the motor cortex, base ganglia and cerebellum, translates subjectivity into do-ability (sponges and jellyfish, most bacteria and archea)
already here the question of viruses and computers being truly alive is demystified. both are objects that reach capability level but lack any form of subjectivity (viruses "borrow" subjectivity from their hosts in order to become capable just like computers "borrow" subjectivity from their user, this is why they seem both alive and dead in different situations). this is also why LLM and current AI attempts are not true "artificial life" because theyre also lacking the subjectivity layer while making jumps to language and cognition. a sim from Sims or a park guest from Rollercoaster Tycoon or even a single cell from Conways Game of Life is very technically more alive than any existing LLM or AI. lets keep going.
language level: symbolic coding of reality so that it can be shared externally or recombined, in humans the brocas area, wernickes area, arcuate fasciculus, left perisylvian network (fireflies, frogs)
representation level: mental models, stored patterns and maps. in humans the hippocampus + medial temporal lobe, posterier parietial and temporal association cortices, neurons building usable maps and schemas, not just storing inputs but encoding models (individual ants, individual honeybees, spiders, crabs, some bacterial bioflims)
cognition level: active recombination of representations, in humans the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, reasoning problem solving and recombinations (octopus, dogs, cats, rats, pigeons, elephants, crows, parrots, memes)
"memes are a form of cognition??" yes, very technically!
"seriously, like TRUE working cognition?" of course not! the representations that form a meme are in a state of self reinforcement, never interacting in more ways than one.
control level: inhibition, suppressing lower level impulses to regulate action, in humans the orbitofrontal cortex, ventrolateral PFC, frontostriatal loops, planning across time (orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, individual orcas, whales, ravens, african grey parrots, slime mold networks, plant root networks)
design level: designing systems, shaping environments, making new tools (not just using existing tools), building abstractions beyond ones own cognition, in humans the frontopolor cortex, default mode network, where the leap into culture technology and art take place (ant colonies, bee colonies, humans, weaverbirds, bowerbirds, corvid cultures, beavers, orca pods, chimpanzee cultures). interestingly beavers, weaverbirds and bowerbirds along with humans individually reach this level while others need the help of cultural/communal forces. meta-design is the category that only humans currently reach through collective cultural mindmelding forces.
whether something counts as "intelligent" depends on which rung of the ladder your perspective values. everyone is just arguing over a binary category that doesnt exist.
