Youβre reading an excerpt of Making Things Think: How AI and Deep Learning Power the Products We Use, by Giuliano Giacaglia. Purchase the book to support the author and the ad-free Holloway reading experience. You get instant digital access, plus future updates.
Humans have long deemed ourselves as the pinnacle of cognitive abilities among animals. Something unique about our brains makes us able to question our existence and, at the same time, believe that we are king of the animal kingdom. We build roads, the internet, and even spaceships, and we are at the top of the food chain, so our brains must have something that no other brain has.* Our cognitive abilities allow us to stay at the top even though we are not the fastest, strongest, or largest animals.