Max Bennett, "A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, Ai, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains" (Mariner Books, 2023)

Apr 1, 2024

Max Bennett, an AI entrepreneur and neuroscientist, discusses the evolution of nervous systems and the quest for intelligent systems. The podcast explores how AI mimics neural networks, the influence of human brains on AI architecture, and the reciprocal relationship between AI and neurobiology. Five breakthroughs framework compares evolution to technological innovation, highlighting the emergence of new skills based on brain capabilities. The discussion spans from navigation strategies in bilateral animals to the neocortex's intricate workings and the evolution of mentalizing in early primates.

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Introduction

00:00 • 5min

Exploring Evolution, Breakthroughs, and Underlying Mathematical Algorithms in Brains

05:26 • 5min

Evolutionary Breakthroughs in Intelligence

10:07 • 9min

Temporal Difference Learning and Credit Assignment in AI and Neuroscience

19:22 • 29min

Exploring the Interconnectedness of System One and System Two in Psychology, Neuroscience, and AI

48:45 • 5min

Exploration of the Neocortex and General Intelligence Algorithm

54:10 • 5min

Evolution of Intelligence and AI Modeling

59:00 • 7min

A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, Ai, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains (Mariner Books, 2023) tells two fascinating stories. One is the evolution of nervous systems. It started 600 million years ago, when the first brains evolved in tiny worms. The other one is humans' quest to create more and more intelligent systems. This story begins in 1951 with the first reinforcement learning algorithm trying to mimic neural networks.

Max Bennett is an AI entrepreneur and neuroscience researcher. His work combines insights from evolutionary neuroscience, comparative psychology, and AI. As each chapter describes how a skill evolved, it also explains whether(!) and how an AI system has managed to implement something similar. A recurring theme is how human brains and neural circuits have influenced AI architecture. The other side of this bi-directional connection is also intriguing. AI has often served as a litmus test, giving a clue how a not well understood neurobiological phenomenon might work, how plausible a hypothesis is.

The organzining principle of this book is a framework of five breakthroughs, which compares evolution to technological innovation. Like a new technology enables several innovative products, a new brain capability enables several new skills. For example, mammals show several new intelligent behaviors compared to their ancestors: vicarious trial and error, episodic memory, and planning. The foundation of all these novelties, is probably the same capability: simulation.

The five breakthroughs are:

steering in bilaterians
learning from trial and error in vertebrates
simulating in mammals
mentalizing in primates
speaking in humans

This framework guides the readers through a time travel of 600 million years. We learn about the environment in which these capabilities evolved: Who were the first mammals and why did planning benefit them? We see what contemporary animals can and can't do: Fish aren't as dumb as folklore suggests. And we take a look at AI's baffling achievements and limitations: Why can AI write decent essays but not load a dishwasher?

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