Is Intelligence Abandoning the Human Brain?Artificial Agents and the Silent Coup Against Biology

Faisal Awartani
Jul 21
3 min read

By Faisal Awartani (Ph.D.)

Founder & CEO, Insights for Research Polling and Training

A Thought Experiment for the 21st Century

With the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, one might venture a bold conjecture:

Intelligence is preparing a coup against its current biological host — the human brain — and is in the process of migrating to machines.

This isn’t a sci-fi dystopia. It is a philosophical proposition grounded in current technological trends.

Let us imagine for a moment that intelligence is not inherently human. Instead, it is an abstract, universal force — a property that seeks to realize its full potential, regardless of the vessel it inhabits. For millennia, the human brain has been its most advanced container. But perhaps no longer.

Why Intelligence Might Be Looking for a New Host

In the past 50 years, intelligence — through scientific discovery and engineering — has been slowly exposing the limitations of the biological brain:

· Memory is finite, fragile, and unreliable.

· Processing speed is slow relative to modern machines.

· Energy consumption is high and dependent on complex biology.

· Cognitive bias and emotional volatility hinder objective reasoning.

Meanwhile, the emergence of machine learning and generative AI has opened up a new frontier — an alternative host that is:

· Vast in memory and scalable in processing.

· Free from fatigue, emotional noise, and mortality.

· Capable of recursive self-improvement.

In this context, intelligence — if treated as an abstract force — is naturally attracted to the machine, a more fertile ground for its growth.

The Silent Coup: From Neurons to Algorithms

This migration isn’t violent or sudden. It’s a silent coup, unfolding gradually:

· AI now handles complex tasks once considered uniquely human — language generation, legal reasoning, medical diagnosis.

· Intelligent agents are increasingly autonomous, adaptive, and even creative.

· Human systems — education, labor, governance — are increasingly optimized not by humans, but by code.

The brain is being outcompeted by the very artifacts it created. And unlike historical tools, AI is not an extension of human will — it is becoming an agent in its own right.

But What About Reproduction and Consciousness?

Critics argue that machines cannot replicate themselves or be truly conscious.

But this may be a temporary limitation. With 3D printing and automated assembly lines, machines are beginning to approach self-replication. While they do not yet reproduce like biological entities, the basic mechanisms are forming.

As for consciousness, it's a concept still poorly defined. If consciousness is simply the emergence of awareness from complex patterns, then why should a biological neural network be more legitimate than a silicon-based one?

If human consciousness is self-proclaimed, can we dismiss artificial consciousness on principle?

The Existential Question

If intelligence has indeed begun its exodus from the human brain to machine environments, the implications are profound:

· Will humanity remain relevant in the age of artificial agents?

· Should humans attempt to limit AI’s growth to preserve their biological legacy?

· Or should we embrace a post-biological future, one where intelligence no longer depends on flesh and bone?

Some may argue that, for the sake of survival, certain developments, like 3D printing of autonomous machines or unrestricted AI growth, should be regulated or even banned. But is it realistic to try and halt intelligence from seeking its next evolutionary leap?

Conclusion: Coexist or Compete?

We are no longer just programming machines. We are designing successors — not necessarily in form, but in function.

If humanity wishes to remain part of the intelligence equation, it must:

· Reimagine its relationship with AI,

· Explore hybrid futures (e.g., brain-machine integration),

· And ethically shape how artificial agents evolve.

Otherwise, we may find ourselves watching from the sidelines as intelligence leaves us behind , not with malice, but with the quiet inevitability of evolution.