Intelligence Primer

TL;DR

This primer explores the multifaceted nature of intelligence across disciplines, its implications for AI development, and raises thought-provoking questions about future systems and ethical considerations.

Contribution

It provides an interdisciplinary overview of intelligence, integrating insights from biology, philosophy, and computer science, and discusses future challenges and questions in AI.

Findings

Artificial intelligence impacts daily life significantly

Broader understanding of intelligence is essential for future AI

Interdisciplinary approach enriches AI development and ethics

Abstract

Intelligence is a fundamental part of all living things, as well as the foundation for Artificial Intelligence. In this primer we explore the ideas associated with intelligence and, by doing so, understand the implications and constraints and potentially outline the capabilities of future systems. Artificial Intelligence, in the form of Machine Learning, has already had a significant impact on our lives. As an exploration, we journey into different parts of intelligence that appear essential. We hope that people find this helpful in determining the future. Also, during the exploration, we hope to create new thought-provoking questions. Intelligence is not a single weighable quantity but a subject that spans Biology, Physics, Philosophy, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Psychology, and Computer Science. The historian Yuval Noah Harari pointed out that engineers and scientists in the future will have to broaden their understandings to include disciplines such as Psychology, Philosophy, and Ethics. Fiction writers have long portrayed engineers and scientists as deficient in these areas. Today, in modern society, the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and legal requirements act as forcing functions to push these broader subjects into the foreground. We start with an introduction to intelligence and move quickly to more profound thoughts and ideas. We call this a Life, the Universe, and Everything primer, after the famous science fiction book by Douglas Adams. Forty-two may be the correct answer, but what are the questions?