I recently finished "What Is Intelligence? Lessons from AI About Evolution, Computing, and Minds". It’s a very readable book with a broad scope, covering the field of computational life and linking it to generative AI.
The book argues that life is fundamentally computational. It suggests that open-ended evolution depends on both a von Neumann constructor and a Turing machine. In this framework, DNA functions like a tape, while ribosomes act as machines that build proteins, enabling life to construct itself.
The author works for Google and is deeply familiar with the research on LLMs. Chapter 4 has a great description of the intuition behind the Transformer model.
I really enjoyed this book. It connected the strange loop concept from GEB with modern research and thinking around generative AI. I appreciated the informal writing style and the occasional jokes throughout. Inspired me to read more books in the same area. I look forward to other publications from Antikythera.