---
product_id: 663013365
title: "A Brief History of Intelligence: Why the Evolution of the Brain Holds the Key to the Future of AI"
price: "£15.15"
currency: GBP
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/663013365-a-brief-history-of-intelligence-why-the-evolution-of-brain
store_origin: GB
region: United Kingdom
---

# A Brief History of Intelligence: Why the Evolution of the Brain Holds the Key to the Future of AI

**Price:** £15.15
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** A Brief History of Intelligence: Why the Evolution of the Brain Holds the Key to the Future of AI
- **How much does it cost?** £15.15 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/663013365-a-brief-history-of-intelligence-why-the-evolution-of-brain)

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## Description

A Brief History of Intelligence: Why the Evolution of the Brain Holds the Key to the Future of AI : Bennett, Max: desertcart.co.uk: Books

Review: Detailed easy-to-follow account on how our brains evolved - From Bilaterians, to vertebrates, to mammals, to first primates, to early humans and modern humans. The book captures five breakthroughs (transitions) on the key features of the brain of those species mentioned that govern their survival, with detailed neuroscience and mixed bag of deep learning and reinforcement learning accounts in explaining how the brain works. The book is simply a refreshing read, provided I am solely a recent self-taught AI researcher without much background in neuroscience. It encourages me to go on and read more about the brain while I have more time, as I have now become more knowledgeable in those topics, which were once too scary to enter.
Review: Fascianting read about animal, human and artificial intelligence--highly recommend - This was a fabulous read. How did animal brains evolve, and what does this mean for the development of artificial intelligence. Why can "simple" animals easily do things AI can't, yet, and how did those systems evolve, layer by layer, up to the apex animal that is us? This book answers those questions--at least the ones we have answers to--in a highly entertaining and enlightening way. I really looked forward to reading this book each time, and it made me think more deeply about what makes us--animals and humans--unique relative to our silicon inventions. I can't recommend it enough!

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | 11,619 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 1 in Apes & Monkeys 4 in Neurology 5 in Human Evolution |
| Customer reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,036) |
| Dimensions  | 12.9 x 3.8 x 19.8 cm |
| Edition  | 1st |
| ISBN-10  | 0008560137 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0008560133 |
| Item weight  | 294 g |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 432 pages |
| Publication date  | 10 Oct. 2024 |
| Publisher  | William Collins |

## Images

![A Brief History of Intelligence: Why the Evolution of the Brain Holds the Key to the Future of AI - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71KHPnjFUKL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Detailed easy-to-follow account on how our brains evolved
*by P***Y on 15 December 2025*

From Bilaterians, to vertebrates, to mammals, to first primates, to early humans and modern humans. The book captures five breakthroughs (transitions) on the key features of the brain of those species mentioned that govern their survival, with detailed neuroscience and mixed bag of deep learning and reinforcement learning accounts in explaining how the brain works. The book is simply a refreshing read, provided I am solely a recent self-taught AI researcher without much background in neuroscience. It encourages me to go on and read more about the brain while I have more time, as I have now become more knowledgeable in those topics, which were once too scary to enter.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fascianting read about animal, human and artificial intelligence--highly recommend
*by M***S on 24 April 2025*

This was a fabulous read. How did animal brains evolve, and what does this mean for the development of artificial intelligence. Why can "simple" animals easily do things AI can't, yet, and how did those systems evolve, layer by layer, up to the apex animal that is us? This book answers those questions--at least the ones we have answers to--in a highly entertaining and enlightening way. I really looked forward to reading this book each time, and it made me think more deeply about what makes us--animals and humans--unique relative to our silicon inventions. I can't recommend it enough!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Superb
*by "***" on 22 August 2024*

Bennett is not a biologist but by adopting the framework of intelligence he somehow manages to integrate the work of many biologists into a compelling whole, at least as far as human evolution is concerned. Along the way he makes many seemingly obvious yet interesting points which somehow others forgot to mention. Which means of course that they weren't too obvious in the first place! I purchased the audiobook as well as the print edition however I do not recommend the audiobook because the reader continually fails to emphasize the appropriate words, making it harder to follow. Better for a non-fiction work if the author reads it.

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*Product available on Desertcart United Kingdom*
*Store origin: GB*
*Last updated: 2026-06-08*