Brian and Brain

As one of the first Brianists in history, Brian Boru led the way for the name. 

Brian Boru was active in Ireland between the period of 941 and 1014 — because that’s when he was alive and taking part. 

This particular Brian had high ambitions, aiming to land on the hill of success. 
And he managed rather well: between 1002 and 1014 he was, after all, the High King of Ireland. 

Well done, Brian.

Then one day in our very current modern times, the situation around Brian shifted somewhat. 
What was initially dismissed as a simple letter mix-up soon grew into what was becoming a historic revolution. 

Two letters inside Brian’s name took on enormous significance: from IA and brIAn emerged AI — and from that point forward, brAIn was a thing. 
The brain suddenly found itself competing with formidable new company. 
AI, as most of us know by now, stands for Artificial Intelligence.

And all of this I’m sharing today in honour of the Life of Brian? 
How brutal is that? 

Well, the boundary between genuinely verifiable artificial intelligence and the media’s favourite habit of making a mountain out of a molehill hasn’t quite been fully explored yet. 
Competition has always fuelled the market, I’ll grant you that. 
But intelligence? 
That’s where economic thinking stops being funny. 

Oh really?

Let’s take a quick look at the biodiversity of intelligence. 
Crystalline intelligence learns and practises from the knowledge and skills accumulated over a lifetime. 
Fluid intelligence can think logically and solve problems in entirely new situations without any prior knowledge. 
Oh là là. 
Emotional intelligence leans into feelings — using them to understand and manage one’s own emotions and those of others. 
Social intelligence tries to make sense of complex social situations and navigate them successfully. 
Practical intelligence is often dismissively called “street smarts” or “common sense,” but it gets the everyday job done without unnecessary detours.

Personally, I’m rather taken with the idea that intelligent people see things others miss, make unexpected connections, and open up new ways of thinking and new perspectives. 
I’d say that kind of intelligence points firmly in the direction of creativity.

So where does AI — or rather, artificial intelligence — rank in the intelligence charts? 
Well, this artificial thing first wants to be able to replicate existing human intelligence. 
A kind of artificial fertilisation of intelligence, without direct human involvement. 

Fair enough, and admittedly useful. 

But AI’s ambitions are unlikely to stop there. 
No — it wants to surpass the limits of human intelligence. 

HOW? WHAT? WHY? 

Before every intellectual and the rest of the intelligentsia marches off in a collective panic, I’d suggest we watch with eagle eyes what AI is actually trying to do and change.

Then we’ll see what the human element in intelligence will and can do.