Blindsight

Why it’s on the list: First contact with something intelligent and not conscious — the novel the current argument about whether intelligence requires awareness keeps landing on.

Where I saw it: Noah Smith (@Noahpinion) on X, February 13, 2026, in a reply to Ross Douthat: “It deals with the idea of non-conscious intelligence, and posits that consciousness is an anomaly.”

Connections

• Noah Smith — the recommender.
• Artificial Intelligence — the reason the book has a second life twenty years on.
• Science Fiction