If consciousness makes an individual feel cold or thirsty, what makes the person react to it? If a person knows what makes that knowledge usable? Consciousness is available and almost completely predictable. Intelligence is rare, especially the specialized type, for purposes. As artificial intelligence takes off, the most important research priority in science is human intelligence. What exactly is it? How does it work? What, in the brain, is responsible for intelligence? Can it be naturally optimized to withstand artificial intelligence? Can a display be possible for a parallel to explore how it works, and so forth?
Big Think recently made a consciousness issue, where the letter [August 20, 2025] from the editor stated, “From the inside, however, we know consciousness intimately. It’s there in every answer to the question, “What is it like?” What is it like to see the color red? To feel your feet burn on hot sand, then run into the ocean? To smell garlic and herbs sautéed in a pan? To hear your daughter laugh? The best we can do is sketch the answers to those questions. But explaining exactly how — or, maybe more tantalizingly, why — consciousness arises continues to elude us.”
At this time in this world, human intelligence is more important to study and understand than human consciousness. Yes, consciousness is extensive, but with artificial intelligence doing a lot of what human intelligence can do, it is time to look at intelligence as a priority of existence and civilization.
Why would a major media company do an issue on consciousness when there is no new idea to present? When is the issue likely to fall flat? And when consciousness is not what would stoke interest, even if something marginally new is mentioned? Why not explore intelligence instead? Why not bring a spotlight to how human intelligence works? Why not discuss possibilities for humans as artificial intelligence soars?
At this time, there is no human intelligence research lab in the world. This means that there is no single research lab studying the brain directly for how intelligence uses what is in memory. If an individual knows something, how is that thing used for a surpassing outcome in reality? Do neurons have memory? If they are, how so? Are synapses intelligent? If so, how? What else are the options to model, say, knowing, with memory, and using it, with intelligence?
Humanity is facing a major threat from displacement by AI in several applicable areas of intelligence. Already, human society is dominated by digital, which is becoming the forte of AI. AI may excel at everything digital, regardless of endeavors. Even if people are cautious about the use of AI in those roles, if AI can do it, it is an option on the table.
Intelligence and Consciousness
The first thing to note is that in the brain, there are components, and those components have their attributes. The separation, for example, of intelligence from memory, or emotions, or feelings, or others, could be attributes of the components that are directly responsible for the functions.
Theoretical progress in neuroscience is to identify the direct components and postulate their attributes, dividing them across functions. If consciousness is subjective experience, what are the components of subjective experience, and what are the attributes? If intelligence is how memory is used, what are the components and attributes? Are they similar or different?
It is proposed that electrical and chemical signals are directly responsible for intelligence, consciousness, memory, and other functions in the nervous system, for human life and experiences. It is possible to build a mechanism around the signals, going beyond neurons, as a way to explain how human intelligence and consciousness work.
This would make a better difference than discussing consciousness as a philosophical problem, which it isn’t, or some other random theory. While consciousness is vital, for now, human intelligence is a necessity for advancement. Exploring it in major ways could become a new path to progress, including with a lab for research in human intelligence.
There is a recent [August 22, 2025] article on EdSurge, More Schools Are Considering Education-Focused AI Tools. What’s the Best Way to Use Them?, stating that, “Discussion about the use of AI in the classroom has become as commonplace as pencils or notebooks, but many have struggled when it comes to implementing and deploying the ubiquitous technology. A new report looks at how — and if — AI tools specifically geared toward the education sector can ultimately help educators.”
This article was written for WHN by David Stephen, who currently does research in conceptual brain science with a focus on the electrical and chemical signals for how they mechanize the human mind, with implications for mental health, disorders, neurotechnology, consciousness, learning, artificial intelligence, and nurture. He was a visiting scholar in medical entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL. He did computer vision research at Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona.
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