A Brief History of Intelligence: Why the Evolution of the Brain Holds the Key to the Future of AI

What a book. It’s a level of depth and detail on intelligence which should become compulsory for everyone to read. Esp Undergraduate coursework. Amazed at the level of research and effort in writing a book this brilliant on a topic as fundamental as intelligence. Forget AI first learn Intelligence and its origins

This was a fabulous read. How did animal brains evolve, and what does this mean for the development of artificial intelligence. Why can "simple" animals easily do things AI can't, yet, and how did those systems evolve, layer by layer, up to the apex animal that is us? This book answers those questions--at least the ones we have answers to--in a highly entertaining and enlightening way. I really looked forward to reading this book each time, and it made me think more deeply about what makes us--animals and humans--unique relative to our silicon inventions. I can't recommend it enough!

Bennett is not a biologist but by adopting the framework of intelligence he somehow manages to integrate the work of many biologists into a compelling whole, at least as far as human evolution is concerned. Along the way he makes many seemingly obvious yet interesting points which somehow others forgot to mention. Which means of course that they weren't too obvious in the first place! I purchased the audiobook as well as the print edition however I do not recommend the audiobook because the reader continually fails to emphasize the appropriate words, making it harder to follow. Better for a non-fiction work if the author reads it.

From Bilaterians, to vertebrates, to mammals, to first primates, to early humans and modern humans. The book captures five breakthroughs (transitions) on the key features of the brain of those species mentioned that govern their survival, with detailed neuroscience and mixed bag of deep learning and reinforcement learning accounts in explaining how the brain works. The book is simply a refreshing read, provided I am solely a recent self-taught AI researcher without much background in neuroscience. It encourages me to go on and read more about the brain while I have more time, as I have now become more knowledgeable in those topics, which were once too scary to enter.

Our first 4 billion years, even the previous 100k, so much so that the author may not have needed to speculate on the last page what might lie in store in the remaining 12bn or so.

Taking us from the emergence of life to the modern human brain through 5 breakthroughs this was a wonderful book telling a unique story. Very well laid out, the Author is a clear concise and articulate communicator. I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in a long time. Highly recommended

Excellent, thought provoking Has become a reference book

One of the best books I have read; notes, glossary, references and Bibliography are provided at the end which are vey useful

Ha sido uno de los libros más inteligentes que he leído. La construcción paulatina y progresiva de conocimiento y las recapitulaciones periódicas resultan genialmente didácticas. El estilo de distinguir una y otra vez lo que se sabe tentativamente de las conjeturas y proyecciones de posibilidades. al lado de las múltiples referencias académicas, va asentando en el lector una confianza intelectual superior a casi cualquier otra obra de este estilo. Por último, el contenido mismo conforma una excelente obra para ilustrar cualquier mente inquieta por el desarrollo humano y tecnológico.

Excellent! This book is very well written and has a lot of insights about why our brains are as they are and how we think.

é uma impressionante história da evolução da inteligência em animais e seres humanos. Muito bem escrito e apresenta muitos fatos essenciais sobre o desenvolvimento dos nossos cérebros!

This book covers the evolution of human intelligence by describing 5 crucial breakthroughs, and how each built on the earlier ones. It’s a fascinating approach and I found it really enlightening. For example, in the 5th breakthrough, how human language acquisition and use distinguishes us from our close primate relatives. The scope of the book is huge – very impressive that it took only a year to write. Two points to mention: The concept of ‘intelligence’ isn’t defined anywhere in the book that I could find. I think it should be, given that it’s the basis of the book. We all know what it means, sort of, but different people would probably explain it differently. Similarly, an entry in the Glossary for 'eukaryote' could be helpful. The mixing of systems of units looks awkward – for example in Figure 1.4, microns together with inches. I think it would be better to stick with metric to be consistent with scientific writing (and use in many parts of the world).

I have been talking about it and giving it as a present to all my friends: It will change your perspective on human behavior, including yours! And it will give you a perspective on the future of AI, but I think that is secondary.