Jeff Hawkins

Jeff Hawkins is an interesting and accomplished individual that has achieved tremendous success through a number of different capacities. He is most well-known for his role as the co-founder and chairman of the successful artificial intelligence company, Numenta, and for his cutting-edge works in computer science and neurobiology. Jeff Hawkins has also written numerous books throughout his career, from practical guides to neurobiology-flavored assessments on the human brain’s capacity for memory and learning. All of his works have embraced an idea of learning from nature, as opposed to relying on mere imitation of its systems.

Hawkins was born in 1955 in California and ended up attending both Cornell University and the University of California to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science, respectively. He originally worked as a circuit design engineer and a computer scientist working in the AI industry, initially specializing in research in parallel architectures and wireless communication networks. However, he realized that a lot more could be accomplished if people approached artificial intelligence problems in the same context as the natural world.

In 1995, Hawkins released his first book, "On Intelligence,” which focused on his ideas of applying brain-inspired algorithms to artificial intelligence research. He argued that many AI researchers were limited to an understanding of AI through mere imitation of the human brain, instead of studying and understanding the relationships between our internal components and the environment in which we live. The book garnered great acclaim and was placed on The Wall Street Journal’s bestseller list for nonfiction. Following his success in “On Intelligence,” Hawkins went on to found and become the chairman of Numenta Research, a company that developed a deep learning technology based on brain functions.

Due to his great success and immense contributions to the world of AI, he was named to the National Academies' Institute of Medicine as well as the National Academy of Engineering. In 2006, Hawkins released a new book, “Subsymbolic Natural Language Processing: An Integrated Model of Scripts, Lexicon, and Syntax.” In this work, he proposed an integrated system of data and operations, which allowed machines to comprehend the content of natural language in a cognitive way. In the same year, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of science degree from his alma mater, UCLA.

In 2008, Hawkins released “On Intelligence: How a New Understanding of the Brain Will Lead to the Creation of Truly Intelligent Machines,” a sequel to his previous work. He argued that intelligent machines should focus more on understanding and modeling the world, including its data structure and relationships, rather than being meant to imitate humans solely. He believed that doing so would create a more reliable, robust, and manageable form of AI. The book was beautifully written, offering insights into how the world works, and how to apply this understanding to creating intelligent machines.

Jeff Hawkins and Numenta went on to develop some of the most revolutionary AI models of their time and, to this day, continue their pursuit of brain-inspired AI research. Jeff Hawkins has received countless awards, titles, and honours throughout the duration of his career, and he is highly regarded as an innovator and trailblazer in the world of AI and computer science.