On Intelligence

By: Jeff Hawkins, Sandra Blakeslee

Narrated by: Jeff Hawkins, Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Download the accompanying booklet of brain function illustrations, examples, and tests.

©2004 Jeff Hawkins and Sandra Blakeslee (P)2005 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Hawkins's] argument is complex but comprehensible, and his curiosity will intrigue anyone interested in the lessons neurobiology may hold for AI." (Booklist)
"[Hawkins] 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." (Publishers Weekly)

Highly recommended

Phenomenal overview of the research and theories developed by Jeff Hawkins' latest endeavor into the human mind. I whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone remotely interested in the human mind and how it relates to everything from psychology to the development of real artificial intelligence.

Must Read

This book is filled with interesting ideas.

Almost gave up over two words

The is probably a better read book than listened to book. There is a lot of material that would benefit from illustrations and time to digest complex passages.

What really rattled me was the narrator’s pronunciation of two words. Kludge is not supposed to rhyme with fudge (closer to stooge.) The first syllable of synapse is pronounced sin, not sine.

Even with that, it was a fascinating book. Another of the books I may buy again as text to give more attention to the details.

More people need to know about this book

Any additional comments?

Most of the talk around AI is just that; TALK. Marketing, buzz-words, theories.

In industry, people are focused on their image and on getting immediate profits.

In academia, people are focused on getting funding and on getting their research published.

Most of the media eats this stuff up. You often hear thiings like, "AI is already here, it's in your phone, it's in your browser, etc."

Very rare is it to see anyone approach the REAL question of what is intelligence? How can we understand it's principles and how can we apply those principles in software?

This audiobook introduced me to Numenta. I listened to it a few years ago and even now I'm as excited about it as I was then.

Unraveling the secrets of the neocortex is not something that's going to be done in a few months by some big tech giant, certainly not by the narrow minded AI "experts" in academia and not by the military.

I believe that if anyone is going to solve intelligence before 2100, it's going to be Numenta (the company started by Jeff Hawkins that's working on this problem right now).

It may be an old book but it's still an excellent introduction. This is not about some new trendy technology, it's about building the next era of machine intelligence.

Some of the reviews mention how the book is disorganized. The author explicitly mentions that some parts will go into a lot of technical details. On my first listen I skipped those parts and had no issues. The narrator also has a really deep voice and somehow people find that condescending.

This book is not about AI as you know it today. It's about building a real general learning system like the one we have. It's also not just talk or theories or marketing, the person who wrote this has been working on it for over 10 years now.



Out of all the books I've gone through on audible, very few have had a lasting impact on me like this one had.

Great for anyone interested in how we think

Jeff Hawkings introduces a fresh and brilliant way of thinking about our own minds that anyone can understand. Full of examples and clear explinations he walks thru step by step every aspect of his thoughts and theories about intelligence and why we do the things we do. I especialy like that he takes an engineers aproach to this topic, explaining why previouse attempts at AI did not work and will continue not to work and how we can change our way of doing making machines so that we may one day be able to build intelligent machines.

Only for study, not application

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The book is a fascinating study of how our brains work, but offers no useful information on how to learn better, change habits or take any action to improve yourself. Basically, he teaches you how a gun works, but never gives you the ammunition to fire it. I found it makes for good anecdotal conversation with friends, but always leaves you asking, "how, if i know all this, can I think 'better' or more 'effectively'?" Unfortunately, there is no answer to that provided... perhaps the sequel?

Fascinating

A terrific book. Quite engrossing. Only a few parts were tough to listen to. Definitely download and refer to the figures during the "technical" portion of the book. The book outlined great ideas, but didn't really dive down into the details of implementation. Nonetheless it is a great introduction to a new integrated computation framework.

Fascinating but not an easy read

It was fascinating to hear him describe how intelligent machines are within reach. It will be fun if his predictions come true, and I'm glad I read it. But, Jeff is a big personality, and unfortunately some of his ego and also insecurity comes through. Too much "this is my theory, that is, the theory that I thought of, that is to say, my theory"...

Changing your perspective on brain-power

Any additional comments?

This is one of the best books I’ve listened to on understanding the brain and how it functions. Strongest recommendation for the story content! It seems like a topic that might be too broad but I assure you it is handled perfectly. The section of the book dealing with artificial intelligence alone is worth the credit.

Best explanation of the brain

So happy I found this book and I'm surprised I hadn't heard of it. It's a detailed and compelling description of cortical function. Granted, some is speculative but it's well informed and well told, with appropriate caveats.

There's simplicity in the multi-layered model he describes; it's an elegant solution to complex problems of thought, perception, consciousness, imagination, bias, creativity, and even behavior/action ... all hinging on the role of the cortex, thalumus and hypocampus in memory and prediction. It's so powerful, if it's true, that Origin of the Species came to mind.

The analogies are very useful for laypersons like me although chapter 6 -- a pretty important chapter -- lost me with the details. Unintelligible after 3-3 close listens; I bought the book and the charts didn't help. This was not because it was too complicated, it was but poorly written. Levels within layers and hierarchies that go all directions -- is it me? I literally didn't know which way was up.

I'm less interested in the transfer to computer intelligence but the commentary about similarities and dissimilarities with silicon was interesting (particularly given the 15 years that have passed and the progress made). I highly recommend, yes, even now, but as he himself says early on, you might just want to skip a large chunk of chapter 6.

.. I really must add, the narrator is a cut above. He knows what he's reading.