The release of From Prehistory to the Age of AGI: How Our Deep Past and the Science of Intelligence Shape Our Future Human-AGI World by Kai Taraporevala presents an ambitious interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, human evolution, artificial general intelligence, and the future of civilization. Bringing together ideas from science, prehistory, philosophy, technology, and humanism, the book asks readers to look beyond the immediate excitement surrounding AGI and consider a much deeper question: what can humanity learn from its own emergence as an intelligent species?
At the centre of the book is the recognition that the emergence of advanced minds has a precedent—human prehistory. By examining how human intelligence developed and transformed societies, the book seeks to provide a framework for thinking about the possible emergence of AGI and its consequences. It asks fundamental questions about the nature of minds, intelligence, consciousness, human behaviour, and the risks that may arise when increasingly capable forms of intelligence operate in the world.
The book argues that technological innovation cannot be understood purely as a technical phenomenon. Technologies emerge within social and cultural systems, shaped by human motivations, institutions, values, and behaviour. Consequently, understanding the challenges surrounding AGI requires attention not only to the technology itself but also to the deeper patterns of human behaviour that can contribute to conflict, instability, and destructive outcomes.
Structured across four comprehensive parts, From Prehistory to the Age of AGI takes readers on a journey from the distant past toward possible futures. Part I examines prehistory and cognitive evolution, asking what has happened in the emergence and development of human intelligence. Part II turns to the nature of intelligence and consciousness as physical systems, exploring what we understand about minds today. Part III considers what could happen when AGI begins operating within the wider world, while Part IV addresses the normative question of what should happen as humanity and advanced artificial intelligence share the future.
The book also includes appendices devoted to implementation, foundations, and explanations. These sections expand the discussion through examples of collective human change, examinations of the physical emergence of minds, and detailed conceptual notes and maps. Together, they reinforce the book’s effort to connect empirical inquiry with broader questions about values, ethics, and human flourishing.
Rather than approaching AGI solely through narrow technological or commercial perspectives, Taraporevala proposes a broader framework that combines scientific understanding with modern humanist thinking. The book explores the gap between describing how the world is and considering how the future ought to be shaped. Its central concern is the possibility of existential risk and the choices humanity may face as technological development accelerates.
Kai Taraporevala brings an unusual combination of scientific, business, and cross-cultural experience to this discussion. He has lived in India, the U.K., France, West Asia, and Singapore and holds Master of Science degrees in Physics from IIT Delhi, the University of Dundee, and the Open University in the U.K. His Open University studies included a specialization in Astrophysics with Space Science, completed in December 2025 at the age of 60.
His professional career includes an MBA from INSEAD and decades of experience in corporate finance, advising global companies and business families, and investing. This combination of scientific training and practical experience informs his interest in ethics, technology, policy, and humanity’s long-term future.
Taraporevala is also the author of Modern Humanism: Science, Ethics, and the Stewardship of Earth (2025) and co-author of Value Creation for Owners and Directors (2023). Through From Prehistory to the Age of AGI, he extends his exploration of science and humanism into one of the defining questions of the emerging technological era: how can humanity understand advanced intelligence well enough to shape a future oriented toward coexistence and planetary flourishing?