Play Book Tag discussion

A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins - 4* - My Review

This book proposes a new theory of the brain – how it learns and stores knowledge. He starts with the basics, walking readers through the operations of the neocortex (the “new” part of the brain associated with intelligence as opposed to the “old” brain associated with primal functions and emotions. We learn about the composition of the neocortex, which he asserts is comprised of “cortical columns” and operates by creating “reference frames” as a person moves through the world. This is all explained in a manner that is easily understood by a non-neuroscientist (though it helps to have an interest in science). The title reflects the author’s research that indicates thousands of cortical columns operate in parallel, each one predicting the next sensory input, thus functioning as its own separate learning machine.

The main reason I put this book on my list to read is that it also covers the field of artificial intelligence, including the current state of machine learning and what Hawkins envisions will happen with AI in the future. He believes we need to adopt a different track than the computing specializations currently being pursued. Currently, we find computers who can beat a human at games such as Chess or Go, but the computer does not know it is playing a game, knows nothing of its history, and is not intelligent in that it cannot do multiple things or learn about its environment. He also discusses newer applications of AI, which can approximate language and communication, and answer questions based on being fed a huge database of information (such as the entire content of Wikipedia). It basically imitates human communication forms but is not doing so in any creative manner and does not represent intelligence.

At the heart of this book is Hawkins’s view that the only way to achieve artificial intelligence is to imitate the workings of the neocortex. This is the path Hawkins recommends, as he believes it is the only way we will truly achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI). The last parts of the book explain the logical conclusions, namely, that it is highly improbable that intelligent machines will replace or dominate humans. He explains the roots of false thinking (such as believing the earth is flat or the space program never happened), and how these incorrect notions are spread. He also discusses the existential threats and the possibilities of using AGI for use in space exploration. I found it fascinating and thought-provoking, and plan to read more about this field.

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