The future has arrived, and it contains many forms of intelligence, some very old and some quite new: the biological intelligence of animals, plants, and living cells; the artificial intelligence of large language models and robots; and hybrid forms that combine biological and technological capacities, such as robotic systems powered by living muscle tissue and people using AI-assisted prosthetic limbs that respond to muscle signals and adjust to movement or terrain. Already we live and move and have our being amid these different forms of intelligence.
The intelligence of animals, plants, and living cells is awe-inspiring in its own right. That awe is only intensified by the emergence of artificial and hybrid forms, which reveal possibilities for intelligence we are only beginning to imagine.
Many people believe that only biological beings can have sentience or consciousness; others—and I am among them—think we do best to wait and see. What is clear is that we participate in an ensemble of cognitive agents, many of which, including animals and plants, have capacities we lack. The idea that we stand at the top of a single “intelligence pyramid” is misleading. Whatever uniqueness we possess may be found in our capacities for wisdom and compassion rather than our degree of smartness—and perhaps in our capacity to serve as stewards within, rather than above, the ensemble.
