Intelligence took a long time to evolve in humans and remains rare because direct genetic encoding of solutions is always more efficient and adaptive than general-purpose search processes, which are expensive, unreliable, and slow (taking whole days to learn).

causalpending

Speaker

Unidentified Speaker — The Grand Theory of Intelligence – Gwern [IMkqAUsVAfc]

Evidence Quote

any small turning machine could always be encoded more directly by your genes right with sufficient Evolution you have these organisms where like their entire neural network is just hardcoded by the genes so if you could do that obviously that's way better than some sort of colossally expensive Ive unreliable glitchy search process like what humans Implement right which takes whole days in some cases to learn whereas you know you it could be hardwired in right from birth

Source

The Grand Theory of Intelligence – GwernDwarkesh Patel
Created: 8/11/2026, 7:44:56 AM

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