Ai (born in 1976, estimated) is a female western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus),[1] currently living at the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University (acronym KUPRI).
She is the first subject of the Ai project, a research program started in 1978 by Kiyoko Murofushi and Tetsuro Matsuzawa aimed at understanding chimpanzee cognition through computer interface experiments.
[1] Born wild, Ai was soon taken into captivity and sold to KUPRI in 1977 by an animal trader (this type of sale became illegal in 1980 with Japan's ratification of CITES).
[2] To study this, the research team created a customized keyboard for Ai and the other chimpanzees at KUPRI to interact with a computer.
[6]This method allowed the research team to consistently track Ayumu's development without interfering excessively with the mother-offspring relationship.