[beefield]

> we are probably not even close to insect-level intelligence

I think the problem is that we do not have a slightest clue what is (even insect-level) intelligence (or consciousness, which is often mixed up in the discussion).

[pron]

That's right. Some have tried describing intelligence as a general problem-solving skills, but this is clearly false. Humans are terrible at finding even approximate solutions to NP-hard problems, which are certainly general and very common. It seems like intelligence is an ability to solve many problems that humans and animals face, but no one has characterized it more precisely, AFIK.