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Google Brain's Co-inventor Tells Why He's Building Chinese Neural Networks

Posted by samzenpus on from the build-a-brain dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Here's an interview with Andrew Ng, former leader of Google Brain, discussing Baidu, Deep Learning, computer neural networks, and AI. An interesting excerpt from the interview on biological vs. computer neural networks: "A single 'neuron' in a neural network is an incredibly simple mathematical function that captures a minuscule fraction of the complexity of a biological neuron. So to say neural networks mimic the brain, that is true at the level of loose inspiration, but really artificial neural networks are nothing like what the biological brain does."

3 of 33 comments (clear)

  1. On the other hand ... by PPH · · Score: 4, Funny

    artificial neural networks are nothing like what the biological brain does.

    ... there are quite a few people around who tried to overclock their brains during the '60s and '70s.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
    1. Re:On the other hand ... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If the 'neuron' of machine learning is so very different from a biological neuron, why are people insisting on calling it a 'neuron'.

      You could say the same about the 'wing' of an airplane and a biological wing. The wing of a hummingbird or mosquito is vastly more complicated and capable than the wing of a 747. It provides thrust as well as lift, can do a vertical takeoff without a runway, and can go instantly from forward flight to hovering. On the other hand, a hummingbird can't go from SFO to Narita in 8 hours.

  2. Biggest difference is timing. by aberglas · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Certainly biological neurons are much more complex than artificial neural net neurons. The simplest "Integrate and Fire" (IF) model of a biological neuron perform a leaky integration over *time*, and if the voltage ever reaches the trigger value the fire. So the timing of stimulations is critical, whereas most Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) does all its calculations (logically) at the same time. The ANN is both simpler and cleaner to work with. Biological synapses are very complex, but much of that complexity just reflects the wet technology that they are made from.

    If you want to understand how the brain works, study biological neurons. If you want to understand how to build an intelligent machine, engineer ANNs.