Artificial intelligent assistant

Is there any running experiment to selectively breed non-human smart animals? Is there any running experiment to selectively breed non-human smart animals? I saw some scientists made overly tame and friendly foxes using fust selective breeding. Could it be possible to add the trait of intelligence to say giant rats? Could it be possible to do so using gene modification? Were there any attempts to breed such an animal.

The question is rather hard to answer as the measure of intelligence can be defined within many different aspects. I am not aware of specific 'breeding' approaches in this context.

Moreover, it also differs depending on the animal models. What I basically want to say is that intelligence is an emergent phenomenon from vastly complex molecular and environmental factors.

One example of a 'measure' is the **cogntivie factor (g)** both in humans and animals.

> Could it be possible to do so using gene modification?

Nevertheless, there are genotypes related to cognitive function. Famously **FOXP2** was coined the "language gene". (Spoiler: it's not that simple). In humans, **this article** summarizes such aspects from a genetic basis.

To give another example – as I commented before – researchers looked at **transgenic monkeys** to study brain development. In this study, the transgenic monkeys showed better short-term memory and shorter reaction time compared to the wildtype.

xcX3v84RxoQ-4GxG32940ukFUIEgYdPy 88daab45a25a61afdb347f04e8903a45