The idea of breeding cephalopods for increased intelligence is touched on in the (great) novel, "Manifold: Time".

Not cephalopods specifically, but the idea of breeding smarter animals is touched on by David Brin in his "Uplift" novels.

I've often thought about how fascinating it would be if some organization took on the long-term task of breeding for intelligence. Perhaps it would require a well-funded non-profit to provide the resources. Could it be done more open-source styled, with standardized tests, individuals breeding animals and submitting gene sequences for analysis (is there a 23andme for animals)?

How interesting would it be to (ultimately) talk to a gorilla or octopus philosopher?