AI Could Get Smarter By Copying the Neural Structure of a Rat Brain (ieee.org)

the_newsbeagle writes: Many of today's fanciest artificial intelligence systems are some type of artificial neural network, but they bear only the roughest resemblance to a biological brain's real networks of neurons. That could change thanks to a $100M program from IARPA. The intelligence agency is funding neuroscience teams to map 1 cubic millimeter of rodent brain, looking at activity in the visual cortex while the rodent is engaged in a complex visual recognition task. By discovering how the neural circuits in that brain cube get activated to process information, IARPA hopes to find inspiration for better artificial neural networks. And an AI that performs better on visual recognition tasks could certainly be useful to intelligence agencies.

Comments

Who exactly needs AI?

[Anonymous Coward]

AI is a diversion. We established that the reason cancer and many other diseases aren't cured is that the FDA is working with other agencies and corporations to repress the knowledge for population control. Yes, you are already living under population control. It isn't for "future peons using up air" it is for you right now. AI is a solution looking for a problem, and one such problem is that human beings can't parse through all the snooped NSA data fast enough. AI can do this magically. Why are you supporting AI? There's nothing good in it for you.

Start with primitive C Elegans Worm

[aberglas]

C Elegans is am extensively studied nematode with exactly 302 neurons, whose contetome (wiring) is consistent and known.

But how its brain actually works remains a mystery. Neurons are complex, as is their interactions with the input and output.

Not much point looking at mice with many orders of magnitude more first.

Personally, I do not think that mapping neurons in detail will lead to AI. But if you are going to do it, start with something vaguely tractable. C Elegans.

Re:Start with primitive C Elegans Worm

[Anonymous Coward]

Like Open Worm?

Re:Grow the fuck up already

[Kiuas]

Democrats were either hopelessly incompetent or they were deliberately destroying the US health care system so their next step could be single-payer.

As I recall, the bill in its original form contained much sensible features such as a public option for all which would count as the 'medicare expansion' that you just blasted Trump for not doing though he promised he would. It was republicans who opposed Obamacare at every turn that caused the law to be so disfugured from its original form (pretty much a Romneycare copy) and leading to a whole host of the current issues.

You can't blame the democrats for incompetence with regards to Obamacare when they were intentionally sabotaged by republicans, with the exact plan of leading to a dysfunctional Obamacare that they could then replace with something even more dysfunctional for health production and more suited towards the will of their corporate owners.

As someone working for the single-payer health care system of Finland: if your intention is to provide first world level advanced care to everyone with lower cost, single-payer is the way to go, we know this from looking at the expenditure stats and results. The US currently spend anywhere from 2-3 times as much money as most economies on health care and you're the only advanced country that lacks universal coverage. That's not just a failure of grand proportions; for the richest country on the planet that's a fucking disgrace.

So yes, I agree that the current system is a flaming trainwreck from a national health point of view but in the 10 or so years I've been following american politics it has been the republican party that's been leading the charge of fucking the american public over and driving through senseless laws because they serve corporate america way more than the interest of their voters.