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Without a theory of intelligence

Kevin Kelly · 17 Aug 2026

Others here said this too

The most fertile way to study neuroscience today is to work on AI models rather than on brains.

Their wordsI'd bet we learn more about our own brains from building a thousand AIs under a real theory of intelligence than we've learned from a century of neuroscience.

Also said by Max Hodak

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Kevin Kelly did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

  1. Our reading

    The large-scale AI compute buildout may turn out to be a temporary phase rather than a permanent necessity.

    Their wordsThe supercomputer inside our own skull runs on about 25 watts, which hints that the minimum energy needed for intelligence might be small - and that the giant, controversial AI compute centers we're building now may turn out to be a temporary blip rather than a permanent feature.

  2. Our reading

    A validated theory of intelligence may be necessary for achieving genuine AI alignment.

    Their wordsThere's a good chance a theory of intelligence will turn out to be necessary for real alignment.

  3. Our reading

    The most fertile way to study neuroscience today is to work on AI models rather than on brains.

    Their wordsI'd bet we learn more about our own brains from building a thousand AIs under a real theory of intelligence than we've learned from a century of neuroscience.

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