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MIT Creates Chip to Model Synapses

Posted by Unknown on from the man-is-obsolete dept.

MrSeb writes with this excerpt from an Extreme Tech article: "With 400 transistors and standard CMOS manufacturing techniques, a group of MIT researchers have created the first computer chip that mimics the analog, ion-based communication in a synapse between two neurons. Scientists and engineers have tried to fashion brain-like neural networks before, but transistor-transistor logic is fundamentally digital — and the brain is completely analog. Neurons do not suddenly flip from '0' to '1' — they can occupy an almost-infinite scale of analog, in-between values. You can approximate the analog function of synapses by using fuzzy logic (and by ladling on more processors), but that approach only goes so far. MIT's chip is dedicated to modeling every biological caveat in a single synapse. 'We now have a way to capture each and every ionic process that's going on in a neuron,' says Chi-Sang Poon, an MIT researcher who worked on the project. The next step? Scaling up the number of synapses and building specific parts of the brain, such as our visual processing or motor control systems. The long-term goal would be to provide bionic components that augment or replace parts of the human physiology, perhaps in blind or crippled people — and, of course, artificial intelligence. With current state-of-the-art technology it takes hours or days to simulate a simple brain circuit. With MIT's brain chip, the simulation is faster than the biological system itself."

6 of 220 comments (clear)

  1. Was not expecting that.. by somersault · · Score: 3, Funny

    With MIT's brain chip, the simulation is faster than the biological system itself.

    Uh-oh.

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    which is totally what she said
  2. Well it's obvious by The+Creator · · Score: 5, Funny

    Due to their incompatibility with newer systems, meat bags are now obsolete.

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    FRA: STFU GTFO
    1. Re:Well it's obvious by mikael_j · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm sure someone will build an interface for it, and then there will be an open source driver within days.

      If not that then let's at least hope our robotic overlords have it in their perfectly synchronized hearts to backport some of the major features...

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      Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
    2. Re:Well it's obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      I'm sure someone will build an interface for it, and then there will be an open source driver within days.

      If not that then let's at least hope our robotic overlords have it in their perfectly synchronized hearts to backport some of the major features...

      Will it run Linux?

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      Granny who survives 3 days on soda and cookies in wrecked car announces that she plans to live on that from now on.

  3. My next startup idea by simoncpu+was+here · · Score: 3, Funny

    1. Build a farm of brain chips
    2. Expose the brain chips via an API
    3. Build a cloud service for brain chips
    4. Market as Brain Power on Demand(tm)!
    5. ???
    6. Profit!!

  4. Re:I have my doubts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You'll wipe your baby way more often than you'd want to.