HI! Human Intelligence

Joe Casini Hi! Human Intelligence Documentary • 2025 • 1h 20m

Reviewed by Beatrice 17. February 2025

Being intelligent means doubting what you know but having the courage to explore what you do not.

In the whirlwind of modernity, the notion of intelligence is no longer an exclusively human attribute but a complex phenomenon that manifests itself through multiple and interconnected forms. "HI! Human Intelligence" is a polyphonic reflection on the contemporary condition, questioning the value and destiny of intelligence within the framework of cultural capitalism and technological evolution.

What parameters define intelligence? How does it influence the construction of our identity, social dynamics, and future perspectives? The documentary gives voice to a plurality of perspectives, incorporating contributions from various disciplines to deconstruct false certainties and challenge the dominant paradigm of meritocracy. Psychologists, philosophers, economists, engineers, educators, and artists engage in a collective dialogue, offering a complex and non-dogmatic vision of the phenomenon.

Far from being an objective and univocal measure, intelligence reveals itself as a social construct that impacts economic and institutional structures, shaping access to resources and the recognition of individual value. The documentary highlights how society tends to reward those who conform to certain norms rather than those who deviate from them, emphasizing the risk that meritocracy becomes an alibi to absolve institutions from their responsibility to ensure equity and inclusion.

On an existential level, "HI! Human Intelligence" raises radical questions: Is intelligence an end or a means? How can collaboration between different forms of intelligence foster greater social harmony? In an era of technological acceleration, the ability to integrate artificial intelligence with human value systems becomes crucial to redefining our relationship with knowledge and change.

Filmed in iconic centers of knowledge production such as Columbia University in New York, Harvard University in Boston, the Leonardo Data Center in Bologna, Northeastern University in Boston, and the London Interdisciplinary School, the documentary maps the multiple intelligences of the world. Among the featured experts are Howard Gardner, Daniel Goleman, and Maura Gancitano, whose insights contribute to redefining the role of intelligence in relation to ethics, sustainability, and inclusivity.

Joe Casini, economist, psychologist, and entrepreneur, explores the intersections between technology, ethics, artificial intelligence, and politics, helping to outline new intellectual trajectories to address contemporary challenges.

The strength of the documentary lies in its ability to weave a multilayered narrative that invites us to rethink intelligence as a dynamic and relational phenomenon rather than a rigid and static classification criterion. In a world where certainties often turn out to be illusions, intelligence is no longer merely a cognitive ability but a practice of care for oneself and others—an ethical imperative that demands profound critical thinking.

Intelligence, if not guided by conscience, is a blind force, capable of both creation and destruction.

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