As the capitalisation may suggest, ALEX is an acronym. It stands for Avian Learning EXperiment. Originally known as Avian Language EXperiment, this experiment was performed by dr. Irene Pepperberg to investigate the cognitive fundamentals of language. For her experiments she used an African grey parrot, dubbed ALEX. After years of learning, the bird was able to label shapes, colours materials correctly. He was also able to answer how many of a certain object were presented to him, or of which type of object there were more. ALEX is also noted as the first non-human animal that has asked an existential question; when presented with a mirror he recognised that he was seeing a reflection, as more animals that are considered intelligent do, and ALEX asked 'what colour?'. This lead to him learning the word 'grey'.
Below is a video demonstrating some of dr. Pepperberg's interactions with ALEX.
I chose this experiment as an old new media icon because I think language can definitely be considered an old medium. What makes this fit in the 'new' category is the fact that, in this case, language is performed by a non-human.