Science of Intelligence Cluster Report 2024

In 2019, more than 130 researchers from twelve disciplines of intelligence research set out on a journey with the goal of understanding intelligence. This book tells the story of that journey up to the present day, from the creation of the Cluster of Excellence Science of Intelligence, founded by the DFG, to the many scientific achievements and findings about what intelligence is. The notion of intelligence for us encompasses all the awe-inspiring things that animals, including humans, are capable of: their surprising survival skills, their ingenuity in solving new problems seemingly with ease, and their adaptability to changing environmental conditions. The artificial intelligences created thus far, even though impressive and economically successful, do not come close in many regards to what evolution has led to in the realm of biological species, and a better understanding of biological intelligence will also allow us to create better artificial intelligences in an ethically sound manner. This volume recounts the many accomplishments of this journey and the many new questions we have encountered, told through stories, visualizations, interviews, and images.