A Thousand Brains

Outline

A Thousand Brains (2021) presents a new theory of how the brain creates intelligence. Jeff Hawkins argues that the neocortex is made of thousands of small units, each building its own model of the world, which then combine to form our understanding. He explains what this means for creating truly intelligent machines and for the future of humanity. Bill Gates named it one of his favourite books of the year.

• Jeff Hawkins proposes a new theory of how the brain creates intelligence.
• The neocortex is made of thousands of small units, and each one builds its own model of the world.
• Our overall understanding of the world comes from these many separate models combining together.
• The theory has direct consequences for how we might build truly intelligent machines.
• Hawkins also looks at what this understanding of intelligence could mean for the future of humanity.

Jeff Hawkins is an American engineer, entrepreneur, and neuroscientist. He founded Palm Computing and Handspring and helped create the PalmPilot and Treo, early handheld computers that paved the way for smartphones. He later founded the Redwood Neuroscience Institute and the research company Numenta to study how the brain works. His books include On Intelligence and A Thousand Brains.