Retracing Intelligence
Building brain evolution, one breakthrough at a time.
An interactive companion to A Brief History of Intelligence by Max Bennett. Each layer re-implements one of the five evolutionary breakthroughs as a runnable agent, sharing the same 2D foraging world so they can be compared directly.
Layer 01
Steering
Bilaterians · ~550 million years ago
A reflex agent with klinokinesis, a six-scalar affective state, and primitive associative learning. No prediction, no world model — and yet the full cycle of drive, pursuit, satiation, and even Pavlov-style conditioning falls out.
Open playgroundLayer 01 is live: the first of a planned five. Layers 02 through 05 (Reinforcing, Simulating, Mentalizing, Speaking) are in progress.