What is Intelligence?

To many AI researchers it came as a surprise that a large neural network trained only to predict the next word can show signs of general intelligence. Neuroscientists who hold the “predictive brain” hypothesis — that brains evolved above all to anticipate the future — were less surprised.  In this talk, based on his book of the same title, Blaise Agüera y Arcas takes this idea further and argues that prediction is fundamental not just to brains but to life itself.  He offers a broad picture of intelligence that runs from molecules to organisms, societies, and AI, drawing on computer science, biology, physics, and neuroscience.

This lecture is part of the Science of Intelligence seminar presented by Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience. For more information, please visit https://redwood.berkeley.edu/seminars/

Light refreshments will be provided before the talk, starting at 5:30 p.m.