Human intelligence and artificial intelligence

human intelligence and artificial intelligence

For decades, we have confused intelligence and cognitive ability. IQ tests placed this confusion at the heart of collective perceptions by mainly measuring reasoning, one of the pillars of philocognition.

Like many of my peers, I long associated intelligence with this intellectual intensity: the ease of reasoning, the passion for thinking, the insatiable curiosity found in so-called “high-potential” profiles. But this apparent equation cracked as my research progressed.

Philocognition is a cognitive superpower, not intelligence itself. You can have a Ferrari engine and never hit the road. Intelligence is not something you possess, it is a state you reach. A dynamic state between a person and an environment, which allows abilities to manifest fully and have a tangible effect on the world.

This state fluctuates:

Antiphase : we are out of sync, our abilities remain silent.

Competence : we adjust, we respond appropriately to the environment.

Performance : we reach maximum resonance, everything aligns, our uniqueness shines through.

In my talks, I explain how this redefinition radically changes the way we assess, support and develop intelligence. I show how psychology and neuroscience make it possible to distinguish abilities (philocognition, reasoning, high potential) from true intelligence (a dynamic, embodied and fluctuating state), and why this distinction is essential in education, clinical practice, research and human strategy.

In these talks, I show how psychology and neuroscience shed light on the fundamental difference between AI and human intelligence. And above all, how AI can become an exceptional intellectual sparring partner , able to amplify our intelligence rather than atrophy it, provided we keep it in its rightful place: that of a partner, not a substitute.

These talks are aimed at leaders, researchers, educators, clinicians and innovators who want to move beyond clichés and think about the future with clarity, rigour and conceptual power.

And is artificial intelligence “intelligent”?

The rise of AI forces us to rethink what we call intelligence.

In the prevailing discourse, it is compared to us in the field of logical reasoning, which it already masters better than we do. It calculates faster, anticipates better and learns faster. But thinking is not limited to predicting text or optimising answers.

According to my definition, an entity is intelligent when it is in tune with what its environment expects of it. An AI can therefore be intelligent… or not. If it adjusts, it is intelligent. If it does not, it is just a poorly calibrated product, however powerful its algorithms.

Human intelligence rests on something else: it is embodied. It relies on the body, emotions (amygdala), feelings (insula) and internal state (vagus nerve). It is formed through action, through perception-action loops and through experienced error, which produces unique learning signals.