A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains

4.6 | 470 ratings

Price: 22.04

Last update: 01-11-2025

Top reviews from the United States

Bill

Excellent book

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2024

The author does not claim to be a trained PhD in neuroscience. But he does claim to know about neuroscience, to have worked with neuroscientists and to have published papers on neuroscience. I think I have caught a few minor (and largely irrelevant) mistakes. I found the book extremely thought provoking. He approaches neuroscience in a way that seems novel. He attempts to understand how the brain works based on insights from evolution and comparative anatomy and from his experience with artificial intelligence. He discussed 5 breakthroughs that occurred along the evolutionary path that led to the development of human intelligence in light of the progress that has been made in artificial intelligence. To me, the approach seems quite sensible. I am about half-way through the book. I also listened to an interview he gave on the podcast "brain inspired". My assessment is that this is a very serious book that is relatively easy to read. I am not a neuroscientist, so perhaps his thoughts are not as novel as they appeared to me to be. I feel, however, that I am getting more from the book than from most of the more philosophical books that I have read (or tried to read) on the subject.

Grampa

A brilliant exercise in reverse emgineering the evolution of intelligence.

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2024

It takes a sharp intellectual skills of a software engineer and the deep knowledge of evolutionary history and neurobiology to tell this story. It fleshes out and supports my attempt to do something similar in FROM BACTERIA TO BACH AND BACK. Very well written and full of insights.

Suneet K. Bhatt

Smart Engaging Eye Opening

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2024

Smart approach to framing AI in the context of evolutionary breakthroughs of the brain. Well done. A worthwhile read for the curious and nontechnical.

Thomas Bengtson

Advances in artificial intelligence are motivated by brains

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024

This is a magnificent, wonderful book. It describes how brains work using examples from evolutionary biology. It connects evolutionary breakthroughs to progress in artificial intelligence. Anyone wanting a look under the hood, so to speak, in current advances in artificial intelligence without requiring a degree in computer science would do well to read this book, even though a degree in biology would help. Highly recommended.

Amazon Customer

Couldn't put it down

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2024

I'm obsessed with this book. I don't generally read nonfiction, but a friend recommended and I'm very happy she did. The complex concepts are presented with incredible clarity, and the visual aids make everything very easy to digest.

As soon as I finished I went to find his next book but this seems this is his only one. I hope more follow soon!

William S.

Extraordinary read, incredibly timely and important subject

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2023

I'm a voracious reader of nonfiction, much of it on subjects that are particularly relevant at a given time. This book is among the finest and most pertenant that I've been privileged to read. Bennett has come up with a formula for communicating the astoundingly complex subject of the human brain in an accessible and engaging way. Once started, I was unable to put it down; and I'm a vastly more knowledgeable person for it. By looking at the brain through the lens of its evolution, and synthesizing that complicated subject into what he describes as the 5 breakthroughs, he informs both an understanding of the human brain and the inner workings (and possibilities) of artificial intelligence. It's an incredibly important and enjoyable read at this time, with the rapid explosion of AI in our collective consciousness.

Rodger Dodger

A stunning comparison! Six star !!!!

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2024

This book is a stunning comparison of the history of bio logical learning and machine intelligence!
The biology for the brains through evolution, ( or divine intervention) vs the attempt to build a learning machine without taking 2 billion years to do it. The author outdid himself , as an expert on machine learning, and I can forgive him for being off on the biology, nobody how the humans got their intelligence as the chimps have 99% of the same genes. I recommend this book for anyone who loves "Science".

Thada

Brillion

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2024

Just great. Really love evolution of what is worked and simple topped up umtil complexitt emerged. Recommend to read to understand our intelligence.

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