There have been three major dethronements in human history. The first was Galileo dethroning earth from the center of the universe in the 17th century. The second came early in the 20th century when our notion of material reality was dethroned by quantum physics. The third came in recent decades when our conscious mind was dethroned by discoveries in neuroscience showing that much of what the brain is doing is in fact hidden from us and not in our control. And now, in the 21st century, AI is bringing about the ultimate dethronement: the dethronement of human intelligence. “I think, therefore I am” no longer defines who we are. Neither does our IQ.

But far from being a defeat for humanity, this latest dethronement could be the greatest gift, finally forcing us to rediscover the infinite possibilities of our full humanity — if we take advantage of it.

I just finished reading David Eagleman’s brilliant book, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, which explores the third dethronement — the neuroscience demonstrating that what we think of as ourselves, the narrative we have running in our heads, is not really running the show. I’m definitely late to the party, as the book was published in 2012 — a full decade before the explosion of AI — but it’s an essential guide for helping humanity navigate our latest and most significant dethronement.

Eagleman, a neuroscientist at Stanford University and the writer and presenter of The Creative Brain on Netflix, writes that “the I that flickers to life when you wake up in the morning is the smallest bit of what’s transpiring in your brain.” Instead, the brain is largely running its own operations, and we have little conscious access to the “giant and mysterious factory” that’s running beneath the surface.

Some might regard the idea that our conscious minds are more passengers than drivers as demoralizing. And some might have the same reaction to human intellect being surpassed by AI.