IBM Devises Software For Its Experimental Brain-Modeling Chips

alphadogg writes "Following up on work commissioned by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), IBM has developed a programming paradigm, and associated simulator and basic software library, for its experimental SyNAPSE processor. The work suggests the processors could be used for extremely low-power yet computationally powerful sensor systems. 'Our end goal is to create a brain in a box,' said Dharmendra Modha, and IBM Research senior manager who is the principal investigator for the project. The work is a continuation of a DARPA project to design a system that replicates the way a human processes information." Also at SlashBI.

Comments

Another step

[the eric conspiracy]

towards the Singularity.

I for one...

[jeff4747]

welcome our new Brain in a Box overlords.

The key to Synapse

[katana]

It's not in the box, it's in the band.

Re:The key to Synapse

[aitikin]

Damn. Where's my mod points when I need them!

Re:The key to Synapse

[slick7]

It's not in the box, it's in the band.

It's in the concentration camp.

Re:Why do we need to model brains?

[the eric conspiracy]

I've never seen a brain in a model that was worth shit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8g3Gb5-jaY

SKYNET T001

[Anonymous Coward]

Lol @ the SyNAPSE processor, SKYNET here we come! well at least before we reach that point DARPA can pimp their new toy out to the NSA and the rest of the 3 letter agencies to help them read through everyones emails, texts, search entries lol

Sorry its not the most insightful comment on such an interesting subject, but seriously what do we all think a machine like this will end up doing? Pure science for benefit of all or will it further help to keep those who pay for it intrenched in even more power.

Re:SKYNET T001

[ImdatS]

Actually, the idea is to understand two things, which we still don't know how they work:

1) The brain itself - how does it work, how does it process information
2) More important: what is the relation between brain and "mind" - is "mind" created in the brain or is the brain the mind. More relevant for humans is "consciousness": does the consciousness inform when a complex-enough brain is created or how does it exist?

I'm not sure this project will get closer to answering Q2, but it will probably help in bringing us one step closer to answer Q1.

Re:SKYNET T001

[ImdatS]

Funded by DARPA. There's a military or dictatorship angle in there somewhere...perhaps...towards accurate predictive models of the 30 minute delay between initial decision formation and action...???

In fact, I cannot judge what it will be used for and I wonder myself why DARPA is financing something like this. But then again, I wasn't sure about other DARPA fundings either.

Yes, DARPA might have sinister motives, but I would definitely like to understand how the brain works and how "mind" and "consciousness" is created (either in the brain or ... ) - but, as you say, perhaps there's something more to it than we can anticipate at the moment wrt DARPA...

Re:SKYNET T001

[ImdatS]

... and to add: I would *really* like to know if there is a way to actively and consciously use the brain's subconscious ability to perform 0.2 - 2 ExaFLOPS. If we could consciously harness that ability, we wouldn't need any computer at all.

Maybe by understanding how the brain and consciousness/subconsciousness works, we could harness that - but I think, it's just wishful thinking...

First task

[djupedal]

Analyze the fukcup in Australia: http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/08/08/0225222/australian-state-bans-ibm-from-all-contracts-after-payroll-bungle

Re:First task

[Charliemopps]

They've already found the problem: Doing buisness with the Austrailian Government.

The goal is to create "a brain in a box."

[sehlat]

They've already done that. They call the boxes cubicles.

Not greedy, unlike others

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

Ok, whoever transcends first, I want a technomagic ring that keeps me alive, fit, and young, with control panel so I can change my body. And, ummm, I guess a hundred mile wide orgy arena with McDonald's and Starbuck's all around it.

Re:Why do we need to model brains?

[mark-t]

Because we don't understand it... if we can, however, approximate its function with a computer model, then we can analayze it more closely and determine exactly why it made the decisions that it did... which may, in turn, lead to insight into why us human beings make the choices that we do.

A bit of a misnomer

[msobkow]

To say they're trying to recreate a brain in a box is a bit of misnomer. They're not trying to recreate the forgetfulness, random irrelevant thoughts, and other such aspects of a human brain.

Then again, maybe those random thoughts are an important part of cognition. If one follows up on those random ideas, new concepts can be born of the misfiring synapses.

Synapses Don't Empower Memory

[Jhyrryl]

...replicates how the human brain works, in that each "neurosynaptic core" has its own memory ("synapses")...

Synapses are the space between neurons wherein chemical interactions communicate impulses from one neuron to another. They have nothing to do with memory, of which we are currently aware.

Re:Synapses Don't Empower Memory

[glueball]

Synapses most definitely have to do with memory, although the synapse is not where the memory resides. Sensitize or desensitize receptors will have affect memory performance. Read about cocaine studies on short term memory.

Re:Synapses Don't Empower Memory

[Immerman]

Actually, IIRC one of the best guesses as to how the brain stores information is in the pattern and weighting of synapses - neuron A gets energized by some combination of firings of the thousands of incoming synapses, plus its own internal memory/processing, and it fires as appropriate. AFAIK the details are one of those things that keeps getting more complicated the closer we look.

Re:Why do we need to model brains?

[pspahn]

She's got a good fucking point, though.

People without access to maps is cause for concern if we want to ever get back in this STEM battle everyone says we're losing.

Ken Jennings loves maps. He's smart as a whip. This chick at least understands why Mr. Jennings is the greatest Jeopardy contestant ever, even if she can't spell the show's name correctly.

Print some damned maps, people! Think of the children of the Iraq and such as South Africa?

Probably my next first line manager

[gelfling]

And so what? Likely to have more human warmth

Re:Why do we need to model brains?

[davester666]

...to be able to put the correct ad in front of us at the correct time, to make us want to buy something.

Brain in a box

[IRWolfie-]

Is this a new variation to the Schrodinger's cat problem?

Our end goal is to create a brain in a box,

[WOOFYGOOFY]

yeah you and everyone else who has ever pursued strong AI. And? And? And so what you're as far away from that as anyone else is. This is the same hype that went around about neural nets some decades ago . So you brought a SHARPENED flint rock to the nuclear armed war this time. And?

There are parts of the human brain the size of your fist we know about as much as we did the heart when we finally figured out hey *it's a pump ! *.

Apparently only holy grail level aspirations are lofty enough to inspire researchers.

Utterances as macho and vaporish as this guy's are deserving of their own "Cock In a Box" style mockery :

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/7cd2e1d8f0/dick-in-a-box-uncensored