On Intelligence: How a New Understanding of the Brain Will Lead to the Creation of Truly Intelligent Machines

From the inventor of the PalmPilot comes a new and compelling theory of intelligence, brain function, and the future of intelligent machines Jeff Hawkins, the man who created the PalmPilot, Treo smart phone, and other handheld devices, has reshaped our relationship to computers. Now he stands ready to revolutionize both neuroscience and computing in one stroke, with a new understanding of intelligence itself. Hawkins develops a powerful theory of how the human brain works, explaining why computers are not intelligent and how, based on this new theory, we can finally build intelligent machines. The brain is not a computer, but a memory system that stores experiences in a way that reflects the true structure of the world, remembering sequences of events and their nested relationships and making predictions based on those memories. It is this memory-prediction system that forms the basis of intelligence, perception, creativity, and even consciousness. In an engaging style that will captivate audiences from the merely curious to the professional scientist, Hawkins shows how a clear understanding of how the brain works will make it possible for us to build intelligent machines, in silicon, that will exceed our human ability in surprising ways. Written with acclaimed science writer Sandra Blakeslee, On Intelligence promises to completely transfigure the possibilities of the technology age. It is a landmark book in its scope and clarity. Publishers Weekly Hawkins designed the technical innovations that make handheld computers like the Palm Pilot ubiquitous. But he also has a lifelong passion for the mysteries of the brain, and he's convinced that artificial intelligence theorists are misguided in focusing on the limits of computational power rather than on the nature of human thought. He "pops the hood" of the neocortex and carefully articulates a theory of consciousness and intelligence that offers radical options for future researchers. "[T]he ability to make predictions about the future... is the crux of intelligence," he argues. The predictions are based on accumulated memories, and Hawkins suggests that humanoid robotics, the attempt to build robots with humanlike bodies, will create machines that are more expensive and impractical than machines reproducing genuinely human-level processes such as complex-pattern analysis, which can be applied to speech recognition, weather analysis and smart cars. Hawkins presents his ideas, with help from New York Times science writer Blakeslee, in chatty, easy-to-grasp language that still respects the brain's technical complexity. He fully anticipates-even welcomes-the controversy he may provoke within the scientific community and admits that he might be wrong, even as he offers a checklist of potential discoveries that could prove him right. His engaging speculations are sure to win fans of authors like Steven Johnson and Daniel Dennett. Agent, Jim Levine. (Oct. 3) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. FROM OUR EDITORS Jeff Hawkins invented the PalmPilot, but we think that his real claim to fame is that he has written a completely accessible book on intelligence. One would imagine that the father of the fastest-selling and most ubiquitous computing device ever would be eager to tout the capabilities of "smart machines." On the contrary, Hawkins insists that computers designed to replicate human behavior are doomed to fail. To explain why, he develops an intriguing theory of how the human brain relies on memory, pattern, and prediction. "We live," he writes, "by our expectations, and someday our machines will, too." A breakthrough book for the common reader. FROM THE PUBLISHER "On Intelligence develops a theory of how the human brain works, explaining why computers are not intelligent and how, based on this new theory, we can finally build intelligent machines. Previous attempts at replicating human intelligence - through artificial intelligence and neural networks - have not succeeded. Their mistake, Hawkins argues, was in trying to emulate human behavior without first understanding what intelligence is." In a style that will captivate audiences from the merely curious to the professional scientist, On Intelligence explains what intelligence is, how the brain works, and how this knowledge will finally make it possible for us to build intelligent machines, in silicon, that will not simply imitate but exceed our human ability in surprising ways From the inventor of the PalmPilot comes a new and compelling theory of intelligence, brain function, and the future of intelligent machines Jeff Hawkins, the man who created the PalmPilot, Treo smart phone, and other handheld devices, has reshaped our relationship to computers. Now he stands ready to revolutionize both neuroscience and computing in one stroke, with a new understanding of intelligence itself. Hawkins develops a powerful theory of how the human brain works, explaining why computers are not intelligent and how, based on this new theory, we can finally build intelligent machines. The brain is not a computer, but a memory system that stores experiences in a way that reflects the true structure of the world, remembering sequences of events and their nested relationships and making predictions based on those memories. It is this memory-prediction system that forms the basis of intelligence, perception, creativity, and even consciousness. In an engaging style that will captivate audiences from the merely curious to the professional scientist, Hawkins shows how a clear understanding of how the brain works will make it possible for us to build intelligent machines, in silicon, that will exceed our human ability in surprising ways. Written with acclaimed science writer Sandra Blakeslee, On Intelligence promises to completely transfigure the possibilities of the technology age. It is a landmark book in its scope and clarity. The Developer Of The Palmpilot And Creator Of The Redwood Neuroscience Institute Examines The Real Future Of Artificial Intelligence, Explaining Why The Way We Build Computers Today Won't Result In Intelligent Machines. He Shows, Using Accessible Examples, That The Brain's Neocortex Is A Memory-driven System That Uses Our Senses And Our Perception Of Time, Space, And Consciousness To Construct A Predictive Model Of The World In A Way That's Totally Unlike Even The Most Complex Computer Software. Artificial Intelligence -- Neural Networks -- The Human Brain -- Memory -- A New Framework Of Intelligence -- How The Cortex Works -- Consciousness And Creativity -- The Future Of Intelligence -- Appendix: Testable Predictions. Jeff Hawkins With Sandra Blakeslee. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 247-252) And Index. The inventor of the PalmPilot outlines a theory about the human brain's memory system that reveals new information about intelligence, perception, creativity, consciousness, and the human potential for creating intelligent computers. When I graduated from Cornell in June 1979 with a degree in electrical engineering, I didn't have any major plans for my life.