Natural, Artificial, and Human Intelligences

2025-06-02

AI Summary

This paper addresses the fundamental questions of whether human intelligence is unique and whether large language models possess human-like intelligence. Methodologically, it adopts an interdisciplinary approach integrating cognitive psychology, comparative animal behavior, AI history, psychometric theory of intelligence, and embodied cognition philosophy to systematically analyze five dimensions: language, invention, complex reasoning, embodiment, and self-awareness. Its primary contribution is the novel identification of four non-linguistic pillars underlying human higher-order intelligence—invention, complex reasoning, embodiment, and self-awareness—and the demonstration that multiple non-human species exhibit several of these capacities, thereby challenging anthropocentric exceptionalism. Crucially, it argues that contemporary chatbots, despite linguistic proficiency, lack both embodied experience and phenomenal consciousness. Based on this analysis, the paper proposes a “continuum of intelligence” framework, offering a theoretically grounded benchmark for evaluating AI capability boundaries and guiding the development of embodied artificial intelligence.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Emotional Intelligence
• Intelligent Robots: Embodied AI
• Natural Language Processing: (Large) Language Models

Application Category

• Semantics and Knowledge: Data modeling to support human-machine intelligence, including LLMs agents, intelligent system behavior, explanations, and user-friendly interactions
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Cost models of using LLMs in production systems
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Large language models for search

Abstract

Human achievement, whether in culture, science, or technology, is unparalleled in the known existence. This achievement is tied to the enormous communities of knowledge, made possible by (especially written) language: leaving theological content aside, it is very much true that"in the beginning was the word". There lies the challenge regarding modern age chatbots: they can 'do' language apparently as well as ourselves and there is a natural question of whether they can be considered intelligent, in the same way as we are or otherwise. Are humans uniquely intelligent? We consider this question in terms of the psychological literature on intelligence, evidence for intelligence in non-human animals, the role of written language in science and technology, progress with artificial intelligence, the history of intelligence testing (for both humans and machines), and the role of embodiment in intelligence. For the most unique accomplishments of human intelligence (such as music symphonies or complex scientific theories), we think that, together with language, there are four essential ingredients, which can be summarised as invention, capacity for complex inference, embodiment, and self-awareness. This conclusion makes untenable the position that human intelligence differs qualitatively from that of many non-human animals, since, with the exception of complex language, all the other requirements are fulfilled. Regarding chatbots, the current limitations are localised to the lack of embodiment and (apparent) lack of awareness.

Problem

• Examining whether chatbots can be considered truly intelligent like humans
• Comparing human intelligence with non-human animals and artificial systems
• Identifying key factors (language, invention, inference, embodiment, awareness) for unique human achievements

Innovation

• Analyzes intelligence via psychological literature
• Compares human, animal, and AI intelligences
• Identifies four key human intelligence ingredients