Comments on: A Brainy New Chip Could Make Computers More Like Humans

By: Al Irvine

Al Irvine — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:01:39 +0000

I think these new chips are exciting and will lead to new and important capabilities. But suggesting that they will result in computers behaving like human brains, is like believing that some reconstructive surgery on the vocal tract of chimpanzees would allow them to speak English.

I was building tools for AI research and teaching AI programming techniques in the early
1960′s. AI researchers have continued to vastly underestimate the complexity of the human brain and the difficulty of producing “intelligent” behavior via electronics. At that time one of the 5 or 10 leading AI researchers was traveling around the country, giving a talk in which he said that if someone would just fund a computer (1960′s speed cpu) with at least 8 megabytes of RAM, he could solve all of the problems of AI!

What we have learned about the brain in those 50 years is that the more we learn about it, the more there is that we don’t know or understand, e.g. microtubules. I think that there is very little doubt that the brain is the most complex, most dynamic structure we have found. The notion of “downloading” a brain sets a new record for farfetched “predictions” of the AI community.

By: John M. Tax

John M. Tax — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:10:37 +0000

Yes, let’s teach computers to kill! Why not elevate the human mind out of the gutter so that we can stay one step ahead of it all.
However, I do believe computers will overtake us. They are already creating parts of themselves. Once they start designing themselves we are left in the dust – just another cow in the pasture.

By: Praedor

Praedor — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:12:38 +0000

OK, let’s get this thing developed lickety split. This chip could do wonders to improve computer game AI! No more retarded or moronic game character AIs that has them stuck against a wall, following a predictable path, etc. It’s what it can do for gaming that matters, not boring accounting, data analysis, etc. That’s ho-hum been there done that stuff. Get it into gaming where the fun is.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 03:06:27 +0000

India? Isn’t that a country overflowing with world class universities? Don’t virtually all the Nobel Prizes go there? And is IBM, a company really focused on selling software and business services, really a hotbed of cutting edge research? Oh, yeah, Watson. I’ll take Jap anUS relations for $200, Alex.

By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:23:59 +0000

I was pleased that Modha suggested that “Brain-inspired computers would be a complement to, rather than a replacement for, today’s systems…”.

Chip architectures are surprisingly conservative, in terms of their commercial relevance. Lots of new designs have been attempted and quite a few have come to market. However the experience of the old chip wars (CISC versus RISC, etc.) suggests that there is very substantial resistance in the market when chip architecture changes requires software changes. Something as simple as a recompile with separate binaries for different chips can cause software distribution issues.

It’s not that the market hates change. The market just wants the interface to the chip to remain highly stable, with some optional additional features and functions being added from time to time.

In order for the market to accept an entirely new architecture there needs to be some really compelling advantage. And history suggests, performance advantages in the range of 5-50% isn’t enough.

By: Cmdr. Awesome

Cmdr. Awesome — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:42:49 +0000

@14 Actually, neural nets learn in approximately the same way as we do…just with more math. They’re presented with input data, run it through their internal “neurons” and produce an ouput response. If they’re wrong, they go back and change their internal structure a bit and try again on a new piece of data.

It’s not precisely the same, but they do make mistakes and they do learn from them.

By: starsky51

starsky51 — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:35:53 +0000

ANNs can simulate around 100,000 neurons on a standard desktop pc. These chips have got a lot of catching up to do. That said, ANN software can only take us so far. These chips are clearly the future of neural networks.

By: lily

lily — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 13:56:35 +0000

the only missong part is emotion :D

By: Clarence Knight

Clarence Knight — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:56:11 +0000

I’m afraid this new type of computation becoming as illogical as most humans are. Will this new computer become a democrat,republican, catholic,Protestant ,atheist or Muslim or… ?
Can this computer hold contradictory information without crashing?
I understand a mind without a filter goes crazy.

By: Crow

Crow — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:35:53 +0000

You mean like

http://www.nicky510.com/comic/youre-not-so-bug-free-yourself-buster/

By: Daniel J. Andrews

Daniel J. Andrews — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:35:50 +0000

Never mind chips that make computers more like humans…I want a chip that makes me more like computers–access to large amounts of memory, increased processing speed, performing complex calculations in my head.

By: Rich

Rich — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:56:21 +0000

If we can live long enough we’ll be able to reboot our brains and add more ram. Might curtail the affects of Alzheimers. You never know what’s coming next.

By: Doug

Doug — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:38:26 +0000

@Cory – thanks – that helps

By: Cory

Cory — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 07:45:01 +0000

@ Doug: The larger synapse unit is a one-time programmable neural pattern. Kind of like a person who could only learn one skill. The 60k synapse unit can adaptively learn a number of skills, reinforcing or degrading neural pathways much like the human memory.

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 06:21:12 +0000

If IBM told you they would have to kill you.

By: Doug

Doug — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 05:36:01 +0000

Damn you beat me to it Chris :) – Aside from that I wonder why one chip has only 25% of the RAM the other chip has – why the asymmetry?

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 03:40:22 +0000

And skynet begins