Non-human Intelligence
There is no doubt that Koko the gorilla was special. Even a cursory glance reveals she was an ambassador for non human communication. She knew sign. She maintained a complex list of abstract words, using them correctly in in complex ways. Even words she was rarely exposed to managed to stick, like the word queen. She would refer to herself as queen, due to the amount of love and attention she received from care workers, scientists, and celebrities. She understood death. She emoted complex feelings about the loss of her cat, and her friend Robin Williams.
Koko’s last message was “Help Earth. Hurry!” That seems clear, but is seriously important to have a context in which that can be understood. You need access to the whole of it. A speech? A response to a question? It could have been coached. There are actually folks who suspect her use of language wasn’t as good as it was made to seem.
I can allow for her making mistakes, and using ambiguous signs. Not all humans command the same level of speech, and yet if someone stutters, I don’t assume idiocy. I definitely don’t assume a lack of sentience. I don’t assume illiteracy means a person is an idiot or lacks sentience. I do often wonder when hearing people get mad at non-hearing people for not responding if they lack intelligence. I know people who…
