Memristor Minds, the Future of Artificial Intelligence

godlessgambler writes "Within the past couple of years, memristors have morphed from obscure jargon into one of the hottest properties in physics. They've not only been made, but their unique capabilities might revolutionize consumer electronics. More than that, though, along with completing the jigsaw of electronics, they might solve the puzzle of how nature makes that most delicate and powerful of computers — the brain."

Comments

Oblig. wiki-link

[Eudial]

What the hell is a memristor, you ask?

Re:I'm always taken back by this

[Anonymous Coward]

Probably nothing significant, seeing as you can emulate exactly what a digital memristor does with 6 transistors and some electricity always applied. Memristors in CPU/logic would not be viable because of their low wear cycles and very high latencies. It would make for some nice multi-terabyte sized USB sticks though.

As for its analog uses, Skynet comes to mind...

Electrical Memristors Don't Exist Yet

[indigest]

From the article:

What was happening was this: in its pure state of repeating units of one titanium and two oxygen atoms, titanium dioxide is a semiconductor. Heat the material, though, and some of the oxygen is driven out of the structure, leaving electrically charged bubbles that make the material behave like a metal.

The memristor they've created depends on the movement of oxygen atoms to produce the memristor-like electrical behavior. Purely electrical components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transistors only rely on the movement of electrons and holes to produce their electrical behavior. Why is this important? The chemical memristor is an order of magnitude slower than the theoretical electrical equivalent, which no one has been able to invent yet.

I think the memristor they've created is a great piece of technology and will certainly prove useful. However, it is like calling a rechargeable chemical battery a capacitor. While both are useful things, only one is fast enough for high speed electronics design for applications like the RAM they mentioned. On the other hand, a chemical memristor could be a flash memory killer if they can get the cost down (which I doubt to happen any time soon).

Re:I'm always taken back by this

[Marble1972]

Probably nothing significant, seeing as you can emulate exactly what a digital memristor does with 6 transistors

Exactly right.

It's not a hardware breakthrough that'll create a true AI - it's an algorithm breakthrough that's required. Faster computers might be nice - but it'll always comes down to the algorithm.

And actually the sooner we create Skynet - the better the chance we have to beat it. Because if we wait too long - that super fast hardware it will be running will could make it too hard to beat. ;)

Artificial intelligence?

[pieterh]

The amazing thing is that we consider individual brains to be "intelligent" when it seems pretty clear we're only intelligent as part of a social network. None of us are able to live alone, work alone, think alone. The concept of "self" is largely a deceit designed to make us more competitive, but it does not reflect reality.

So how on earth can a computer be "intelligent" until it can take part in human society, with the same motivations and incentives: collect power, knowledge, information, friends, armies, territories, children...

Artificial intelligence already exists and it's called the Internet: it's a technology that amplifies our existing collective intelligence, by letting us connect to more people, faster, cheaper, than ever before.

The idea that computers can become intelligent independently and in parallel with this real global AI is insane, and it has always been. Computers are already part of our AI.

Actually, the telegraph was already a global AI tool.

But, whatever, boys with toys...

Re:Artificial intelligence?

[dcherryholmes]

But I could stick you on a deserted island all by yourself and you would still be intelligent, right? I'm not denying that we are deeply social creatures, nor that a full definition of an organism must necessarily include a description of its environment. But I think you are confusing the process by which we become intelligent with intelligence itself.

Re:Artificial intelligence?

[Hurricane78]

None of us are able to live alone, work alone, think alone.

Did you come up with this because of your own ability to do so?
Because except for reproduction, we can easily survive our whole life alone.
Sure it will be boring. But it works.

The idea that computers can become intelligent independently and in parallel with this real global AI is insane, and it has always been.

Says who? You, because you need it to base your arguments on it? ^^
You will see it happening in your lifetime. Wait for it.

Re:I'm always taken back by this

[ceoyoyo]

"Repeat after me" is really annoying. If you're going to be that irritating you'd better have some pretty strong evidence to back yourself up. Where is it?

The brain is not a computer.

[FiloEleven]

Citation.

See especially points
6 - No hardware/software distinction can be made with respect to the brain or mind,
7 - Synapses are far more complex than electrical logic gates,
10 - Brains have bodies,
and the bonus - The brain is much, much bigger than any [current] computer.

It's past time for this idea to die.