Microprocessors With Living Brain Tissue

FurBurger writes: "Another interesting article from Discover.com on NeuroComputers . 'Although scientists have developed software that attempts to mimic the brain's learning process using only the yes-no binary logic of digital computers, all the connections in a personal computer are wired back at the factory. Breaking a single one of these connections usually crashes the computer.' (a la Windows =))" The promise of neuron-based computers is greater flexibility and fault tolerance, with components that require very little power. Or, as FurBurger puts, it, "Watch out, Transmeta!" Mike also points to a June article on the BBC about the same group and their "leech-ulator."

Comments

"(a la Windows =))" remark out of line

[malahoo]

Come on man, any idiot can tell that the "connections in a personal computer [that] are wired back at the factory" refer to the connections in the chip, not the software "connections" made by software programmers. Since Windows has nothing to with chip manufacturing, this "(a la Windows =))" stuff is completely without meaning. Any operating system, even Linux, will crash on broken hardware.

I hate M$ as much as the next guy, but I hate to see brain-dead digs like this one show up on the front page of Slashdot. What next, Bill Gate's Momma jokes? It makes us look stupid.

Cut it out.


If you're not wasted, the day is.

The scary thing about organisms as tools ..

[scrutty]

Is that they evolve ...

Imagine the Office paperclip a few years down the line if its capble of changing, learning and growing in strength

I Know This Line Is Troll, But..

[pnatural]

Breaking a single one of these connections usually crashes the computer.' (a la Windows =))

so, who can find me an operating system, open source or closed, that can withstand an electrical connection failure? redudant hardware is typically abstracted from the OS, so it stands to reason that any real hardware failure is gonna cause you a very real OS failure. GNU/Linux or GNU/Not.

Logic, not material

[atlep]

It is correct that the brain has some fantastci computing powers we cannot mimic yet. It is also correct that the brain rewires to an extent. It is also very robust in that it can sustain substantial damage and still continue to work.

But this has to do with the LOGIC of how the brain works and NOT the MATERIAL.

In order to make our silicon function as the brain we have to understand how the brain functions. And here we're talking about billions of very complex neurons working in parallell. (Even for insect we're talking tens of thousands).

When we understand the logic we can implement it using the best suited technology.

Living neurons are slow.In the human brain the maximum spikerate is 1000 Hz and the conduction velocity through the nerve-fibers are not that much either. (Don't remember the figures, but we're talking about metres per second.) This is much much slower than silicon.

The comparrison between a transistor (2 states) and a neuron (more or less analog) is stupid. We can pack a shitload of transistors into the same space used by a neuron. In addition we don't have to keep the silicon alive.

Silicon can never rewire, but the logic of
rewiring can be implemented.

While the article is interesting, it is not interesting to see a computer built from brain tissue. But the knowledge of creating a computer from brain tissue would probably enable us to build real smart silicon.