Natural intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is on everyone's lips. It is the hot topic of the moment. Researchers and pioneers in this field have tried to define the term "artificial intelligence". A machine manages to multiply more than five-digit numbers together. Very impressive. But is that intelligent? Isn't it already much more intelligent than us humans? Is that what intelligence is?

This is how the Encyclopedia Britannica defines artificial intelligence. Humans rarely multiply five-digit numbers in their heads. According to Elaine Rich, AI is not even a skill, but a science in itself:

Artificial intelligence has more than one definition. The term is barely tangible. Whether an artificial agent is considered intelligent remains subjective, even if we generally assume that agents that pass the Turing test have a human-like ability to think. We distinguish between agents that think rationally, behave rationally, behave like humans or even think like humans.

What all definitions and approaches have in common is that they take humans and their abilities as a yardstick. But what is natural intelligence? What does it mean when we describe someone as intelligent? The term intelligence is derived from the Latin word intellegre. Translated, it means to see, understand or grasp.

Some people understand intelligence to mean what we measure in an IQ test (intelligence quotient). There are many tests with many different results. But why do we want to measure intelligence at all? Do we know whether we are looking at a particularly intelligent person? Sir Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin, was the first to address this question. He tried to measure the physical characteristics of aristocrats and set up a laboratory to measure their reaction time and other physical and sensory characteristics. It was not until the 20th century that the Frenchman Alfred Binet developed the first test that resembled a modern intelligence test. The scientist Spearman also spoke of a "g" factor that underlies all cognitive abilities. Later, many other scientists were interested in the measurability of human intelligence. Nevertheless, it is still not clear what intelligence actually is. There are many different theories that attempt to describe what intelligence is. They are all very different, but they all agree that intelligence cannot be described solely by what we measure in IQ tests today. Some of the best-known theories are presented below.

Fluid and crystallised intelligence (Raymond B. Cattell, 1963)

• Crystallised intelligence: Ability to apply skills and factual knowledge acquired through prior learning.
• Fluid intelligence: Ability to abstract information, solve complex problems and recognise patterns.

Crystallised intelligence increases in the course of life. While fluid intelligence decreases dramatically in later life. The decline in fluid intelligence is probably related to the deterioration of neurological functions, but may also be due to the fact that it is used less frequently with increasing age.

Theory of multiple intelligences (Howard Gardener, 1980)

According to Gardener, there is more than one form of intelligence. Here are the first eight he defined:

• Logical-mathematical intelligence: gGood at logic, abstraction, numbers and critical thinking, understands random systems.
• Linguistic intelligence: Good at reading, writing, storytelling and memorising words and data.
• Interpersonal intelligence: Sensitivity to moods, feelings, temperament and motivation of others, good group work.
• Intrapersonal intelligence: Good self-reflection, ability to predict own emotions and reactions.
• Musical intelligence: Sensitivity to sounds, tones and rhythms, ability to play instruments or sing.
• Physical-kinesthetic intelligence: Good at sports, dance or crafts, efficient use of hands or body.
• Visual-spatial intelligence: Visualising with the mind's eye.
• Naturalistic intelligence: Understanding of nature, flora and fauna.

Which form of intelligence is recognised depends heavily on the respective culture. While we in Western culture primarily recognise logical-mathematical and linguistic intelligence, people with physical-kinesthetic and musical intelligence are highly valued in Bali. Music and dance are highly valued in their culture.

Triarchic theory of intelligence (Robert Sternberg, 1985)

Robert Sternberg defines intelligence as the ability to be successful on the basis of personal standards and the socio-cultural context. He divides intelligence into three categories:

• Analytical intelligence: The ability to evaluate information and solve problems (measurable by IQ tests).
• Creative intelligence: The ability to develop new ideas.
• Practical intelligence: tThe ability to adapt to new environments in everyday life.

Emotional intelligence (Mayer and Mayer, 1990)

This form of intelligence emerged later. It is very similar to Gardener's interpersonal intelligence and describes:

• The ability to observe one's own emotions and those of others.
• The ability to use emotional information to control thought and behaviour.
• The ability to differentiate between emotions and to name them appropriately.

Emotional intelligence is important for our self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. Managers with a higher measured Emotional Intelligence are often perceived as more competent and stress-resistant.

Conclusion

To summarise, it can be said that even today it is still difficult to understand intelligence and to find a uniform definition. In our research, we came across over 20 different definitions. This also makes a clear definition of "artificial intelligence" difficult. For us personally, the definition from the Compact Oxford Dictionary fits best. It defines intelligence as follows:

The parallels with the definition of learning from the Cambridge Dictionary are particularly interesting:

Taken together, one could say that intelligence describes our ability to learn. Learning is vital. We can spend a lifetime learning and learning to learn. At the very least, it has been proven that we can increase our measured IQ through learning.

The fact that IQ tests often do not provide valid results and that the results correlate negatively with environmental factors such as low socio-economic status, low self-esteem and poor health indicates that the measured IQ does not fully reflect a person's intelligence, to say the least. An IQ value should not be used to categorise people or formulate expectations of them. In 1917, the IQ test was used in the USA to decide on the residency of various groups of immigrants. Some of them did not even understand the language of the test. Defining intelligence solely by the score on a test is too short-sighted and can have fatal consequences. Intelligence, regardless of the theory, and the measured IQ value are not constants. Intelligence is to a large extent an ability, the measure of which we determine ourselves. It is a valuable asset for a society that can only be acquired through a successful education system. Creating and maintaining natural intelligence is at least as expensive as artificial intelligence. There are external circumstances that influence our intelligence and our learning processes:

You can find more exciting topics from the world of adesso in our previously published blog posts.

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