Neuroscientist David Eagleman proposes test of intelligence for AI to Utah audience

SALT LAKE CITY — What is intelligence? As it turns out, the rapidly developing technology of artificial intelligence and large language models may not only become an asset in pursuing new scientific discoveries, but also might turn out to be a vital resource from which we can explore the true nature of intelligence.

That’s according to David Eagleman, a neuroscientist currently teaching at Stanford University.

“The question is, will things get strange as we enter into a world with another intelligence?” Eagleman, also a best-selling author and writer of the TV series “The Brain with David Eagleman,” pondered with an audience Tuesday at the University of Utah’s Kingsbury Hall. He spoke as part of the Natural History Museum of Utah’s 2024 lecture series centered around the nature of intelligence.

Eagleman explained to the audience that AI only appears to be so smart because of its ability to instantly synthesize information from any documented source on the internet and eloquently generate answers to queries through the use of advanced large language models — a form of artificial neural network that allows a program to synthesize information into accurate statements that imitate natural speech through a learned understanding of language and syntax.

Read the full story and more from Sky Mundell on KSL.com.

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