If “intelligence” means abstract thought, then it would be foolish to think that plants are engaging in it. But if it means merely the ability to solve problems or adapt to a particular environment, then it’s difficult to say that plants are not capable of intelligence. If “consciousness” denotes self-awareness in the strongest sense of the word,

But what if the meaning of AI is not to be found in the way it competes with, supersedes or supplants us? What if, like the emergence of network theory, its purpose is to open our eyes and minds to the reality of intelligence as something doable in all kinds of fantastic ways, many of them beyond our own rational understanding?