This is an extended interview with Dr. Ken Schweller of the Great Ape Trust, who was featured in our April 2 Marketplace Tech Report episode. Schweller has written a tablet app called Bonobo Chat, which allows the apes (our closest living relatives) to “speak” with their keepers, open doors, operate vending machines, and perhaps to operate a special robot that can roam around outside their cages and interact with visitors. That’s pretty darn cool…even if it does suggest inviting some kind of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” scenario…
As is our lot, there’s much more to it than we had time for on the show, and we sure had fun talking to him. This more-or-less full audio of our chat is about six minutes long. Enjoy!
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.