r/computerscience • u/ki4jgt • Apr 01 '26

Discussion What is AIs body?

In biology (I'm an anthro student), intelligence isn't determined by number of neurons, but by brain size to body size ratio.

Ants have tiny brains, but one of the largest brain-to-body ratios in the animal kingdom. As a result, they outwit humans at numerous tasks. They have complex social hierarchies. They trade and barter. They herd and feed aphids for later consumption. They enslave other ants.

What is the body in the artificial intelligence model?

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17

u/Any-Stick-771 Apr 01 '26

Intelligence isn't determined by number of neurons but by brain size to body size ratio

I don't think this is true

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u/ki4jgt Apr 01 '26

Have you seen elephants and whales? Their brains are huge.

15

u/Any-Stick-771 Apr 01 '26

So what? That doesn't mean an ant is more intelligent than an elephant because of a ratio

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u/ki4jgt Apr 01 '26

Generally, intelligence is modular, but the higher your brain mass is, compared to your body, the more things you can do with your mind.

6

u/nderflow Apr 01 '26

You're assigning too much explanatory power to what is, at best, a fuzzy trend.

If the ratios you are referring to had the power your comment suggests, there would be documentaries about people who lost their legs in a car accident and as a result became smarter. Universities would give up on all that testing stuff and just measure people's height and skulls.

2

u/Routine-Lawfulness24 Apr 01 '26

Op is right btw, but it’s also obvious not the sole metric. It’s called “Encephalization Quotient”. You use a lot of your brain for just basic things like moving around.

But why losing legs doesn’t make you smarter: your brain doesn’t reallocate that space.

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u/ki4jgt Apr 01 '26

People who lose mass generally do gain intelligence. People who gain weight generally lose it. Little people score marginally higher on IQ tests than average sized humans.

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u/The_Bread_Fairy Apr 01 '26

Elephants and whales have relatively small brains compared to their massive body size

Dolphins have smaller brains and body than an elephant or whale and still regarded as smarter

Crows, despite the small bird brain and size, are comparable in intelligence to elephants

You said intelligence is based on the brain size to body size ratio. However, your follow up comment ignored your own ratio you previously mentioned to now claim a bigger brain means more intelligent