Blade Runner

What's so special about us? Comparing human intelligence to animal, artificial, and alien intelligences with Dr. Karthik Panchanathan, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Missouri.

A recurring theme in fiction is the idea of an artificially created intelligence that matches or even surpasses human intelligence. Dr. Panchanathan explores some of the science behind other kinds of intelligence, including animal, artificial, and alien, as well as some of the philosophy of why these ideas bother us so much.

What do we mean by intelligence, where do we think it comes from, and should there be a sharp line between what we might consider "real" intelligence and everything else?