Mike Levin, a developmental biologist at Tufts University, argues that all intelligence is collective intelligence. This is because we are all made up of cells, including neurons, which have many competencies. These cells were once separate individuals with all the skills needed to survive in a complex world. The competency architecture of all creatures refers to the fact that all the parts inside each one are themselves competent agents with preferences, goals, and other types of problem-solving capacities. As such, engineers have to pick the right level of the right system when assessing intelligence in unconventional embodiments. The engineer has to come up with a way to look at a particular system that does not overestimate or underestimate its intelligence. According to Levin, via this spectrum, the universe's notion of intelligence goes all the way to the bottom, and it's never a question of is something physics or chemistry or cognitive; instead, the question is what kind of cognition and how much.
1. Intelligence is often thought of as being of two kinds.
2. All intelligence is collective intelligence.
3. Cells and various other cells in our body have many competencies.
4. Developmental biology is about the journey from physics to mind.
5. Multi-scale competency architecture allows each level to solve its own problems.
6. Intelligence exists on a spectrum and can be found in unconventional forms.
7. The engineer must pick the right level for the right system.
8. Flatworms can adapt to novel stressors by turning certain genes on and off.
9. Evolution has pivoted tricks from simple systems to solve complex problems.