A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence

by Jeff Hawkins

Recognizing a spoken word is like recognizing a short melody. The word is defined by a sequence of phonemes, whereas a melody is defined by a sequence of musical intervals.

It is worth emphasizing again that intelligence cannot be measured by how well a machine performs a single task, or even several tasks. Instead, intelligence is determined by how a machine learns and stores knowledge about the world.

Although I don’t believe our brains are connected to a computer, what is happening is almost as strange. The world we think we live in is not the real world; it is a simulation of the real world. This leads to a problem. What we believe is often not true.

The nerves only send spikes. And since we do not perceive spikes, everything we do perceive must be fabricated in the brain.

Our reality is similar to the brain-in-a-vat hypothesis; we live in a simulated world, but it is not in a computer—it is in our head.

From a Darwinian point of view, selective education is a good strategy, as long as those not receiving an education don’t rebel.

Memes and genes evolve, and they can do so in a mutually reinforcing way. For example, let’s say a variation of the history book is published. The difference between the original version and the new one is the addition of a few more instructions at the beginning of the book, such as “Women should have as many children as possible” and “Don’t allow children to attend schools where they might be exposed to criticism of the book.” Now there are two history books in circulation. The newer book, with its additional instructions, is slightly better at replication than the old book.

Our neocortex has invented powerful technologies that are capable of changing the entire Earth, but the human behavior that controls these world-changing technologies is often dominated by the selfish and shortsighted old brain.

Personally, I don’t see why the path of unguided evolution is preferable over a path of our own choosing. We can be thankful that evolutionary processes got us here. But now that we are here, we have the option to use our intelligence to take control of the future. Our survival as a species and the survival of our knowledge might be more secure if we do.

A future driven by genes has little to no direction and only short-term goals: stay healthy, have kids, enjoy life. A future designed in the best interest of knowledge has both direction and end goals.