How can the brain [1] be a poor model of intelligence, if our notions and very definitions of intelligence are based on the intelligence it provides?
[1] Of course, considering only the brain is wrong and reminiscent of the dualist myth. By brain I mean the nervous system, which is a open micro system embodied in a larger and also open macro system - the organism.
Yes, birds are self replicating units that subsist on food available in their environment. Without food or water a bird will, like any other animal, die in a few days. They're small and flexible. Their range is quite far, depending on species, and some of them use tools.
Planes on the other hand are artifacts, manufactured to spec. They rely on highly specialized and rarefied fuel without which they will catastrophically fail immediately. Their range in tremendous and they've become an integral part of the human species.
Or did you mean the difference between flapping and fixed wing?
More to the point, building planes was a better way to discover and deeply understand the principles of aerodynamics than studying birds. Similarly, building working AIs will be a better way to discover and deeply understand the principles of intelligence and consciousness than studying brains.
[1] Of course, considering only the brain is wrong and reminiscent of the dualist myth. By brain I mean the nervous system, which is a open micro system embodied in a larger and also open macro system - the organism.