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A Brief History of Intelligence: Why the Evolution of the Brain Holds the Key to the Future of AI
By Max Bennett
Bridges the gap between AI and neuroscience by telling the story of how the brain came to be.
‘I found this book amazing’ Daniel Kahneman, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and bestselling author of Thinking Fast & Slow
The entirety of the human brain’s 4-billion-year story can be summarised as the culmination of five evolutionary breakthroughs, starting from the very first brains, all the way to the modern human brains. Each breakthrough emerged from new sets of brain modifications, and equipped animals with a new suite of intellectual faculties.
These five breakthroughs are the organising map to this book, and they make up our itinerary for our adventure back in time. Each breakthrough also has fascinating corollaries to breakthroughs in AI. Indeed, there will be plenty of such surprises along the way. For instance: the innovation that enabled AI to beat humans in the game of Go – temporal difference reinforcement learning – was an innovation discovered by our fish ancestors over 500 million years ago. The solutions to many of the current mysteries in AI – such as ‘common sense’ – can be found in the tiny brain of a mouse. Where do emotions come from? Research suggests that they may have arisen simply as a solution to navigation in ancient worm brains. Unravelling this evolutionary story will reveal the hidden features of human intelligence and with them, just how your mind came to be.
'I found this book amazing. I read it through quickly because it was so interesting, then turned around and read much of it again.' Daniel Kahneman, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and bestselling author of Thinking Fast & Slow -
”'I've been recommending A Brief History of Intelligence to everyone I know. A truly novel, beautifully crafted thesis on what intelligence is and how it has developed since the dawn of life itself.” - Angela Duckworth, University of Pennsylvania and bestselling author of Grit
”'introduces us to an enormous range of concepts in biology, evolution, brain science and AI… there is plenty of food for thought here.” - TLS
”'a fabulous book” - Joseph LeDoux, bestselling author of Anxious and A Deep History of Ourselves
”'With a truly mindboggling scope, A Brief History of Intelligence integrates the most relevant scientific knowledge to paint the big picture of how the human mind emerged. It makes for exciting reading for virtually everybody, laypersons and experts alike.” - Kurt Kotrschal, Professor at Department of Behavioral Biology at University of Vienna, author of Dog & Human: The secret of our soul mates
”'If you’re in the least bit curious about that 3-pound grey blob between your ears, read this book…a tour de force-as refreshing as it is entertaining. It made my brain happy.” - Jonathan Balcombe, bestselling author of Super Fly, and the New York Times bestseller What a Fish Knows
”'this book discloses everything you always wanted to know about the brain (but were afraid to ask). It is an incredible resource.” - Karl Friston, Scientific Director for Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging; Professor at Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London