World's largest neuromorphic supercomputer is switched on

a reply to: InTheLight

You wish the thing to take psychedelics now? LoL

Don't think there would be much effect given the nature of the beast in question, that being nonbiological.

One can only imagine what an AI on digital '___' would envisage all the same.

I have no idea to be honest.

"...designed to copy the workings of the human brain and unlock its secrets..."

Just the usual journalistic nonsense, encouraged no doubt by Professor Furber hyping his work.

It's a daft exaggeration to suggest this is a clone of the human brain which will become super intelligent or even provide insight into consciousness. Neuromorphic chips are modelled on one small feature of the brain, a complex organ which we've barely begun to understand. It will (hopefully) be faster and much more energy efficient at pattern recognition than its von neumann cousins.

Nothing more than that.

a reply to: EvilAxis

Tend to agree that we cannot, as of yet, build a machine capable of storing the consciousness of a human mind in its entirety.

But i don't think that's the goal of the project, at least not at this stage of development.

Depending on how the experiments transpire through, who knows what would be possible down the line?

Then again how would we even transfer a human consciousness to such a device considering we don't know enough about our own to even really find the thing?

Our memories on the other hand, well i think there has been some success already where recording memories are concerned.

originally posted by: andy06shake
Then again how would we even transfer a human consciousness to such a device considering we don't know enough about our own to even really find the thing?

Exactly.

originally posted by: andy06shake
Our memories on the other hand, well i think there has been some success already where recording memories are concerned.

Diaries?

a reply to: EvilAxis

"Diaries?"

Apparently, Japanese scientists have had some success recording dreams.

The research is still in a rudimentary phase.

So far these recordings only represent crude approximations of the images from the subjects dreams.

The significance of that was the reading of dreams from MRI brain scans. Recording is easy, firstly as I suggested, with pen and paper, or with more up to date technology.

To read a memory directly from one brain and transmit it to another (for example) remains well beyond current achievements, notwithstanding the very crude Semephore-like thought transmissions demonstrated for example by the University of Washington in Seattle team in 2015.

Oddly, I just re-read Heechee Rendezvous yesterday. First time since I bought the book in '84.

It's a fairly common theme, but Pohl did it so very well. Without the bad undertones.

Black Mirror did it well too. With the bad undertones.

a reply to: andy06shake

What a waste of time, money and resources.

I will laugh till I projectile vomit if the answer to where consciousness comes from is 42.

a reply to: andy06shake

Every memory leaves its own imprint in the brain, and researchers are starting to work out what they look like, its not beyond the realms of possibility that one day soon we will be able to record and transfer memories, in the same manner, we do sound and video, to think otherwise is rather short-sighted.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

42 was a joke on Adams part. LoL

Science and technology are seldom a waste of money and resources. Some of the questions and experiments this type of technology will allow us to possibly address are quite frankly still to be imagined.

For a start, it may shine some light on why or how the likes of Alzheimer's or dementia set in as we age, how it progresses, possibly leading to new improved understanding or treatments somewhere down the line.

Plenty of applications really, but laugh away mate, it's a free world.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: andy06shake

Every memory leaves its own imprint in the brain, and researchers are starting to work out what they look like, its not beyond the realms of possibility that one day soon we will be able to record and transfer memories, in the same manner, we do sound and video, to think otherwise is rather short-sighted.

Certainly not beyond the realms of possibility. It's your use of the word 'soon' I take issue with. What has been achieved to date comes nowhere near and the topic of this thread, the neuromorphic computer (despite it's exciting name), cannot reasonably be held up as a significant move in that direction.

a reply to: EvilAxis

Just spitballing what could possibly come of the technology, its fun to speculate.

Obviously, this machine is nothing more than a research tool, but we need to start somewhere after all.

15-20 years down the line though, if neuroscience keeps headed in the direction she is going, i imagine recording and even playing back select memories will be well within the realms of possibility.

That does not mean that we will be able to transfer or consciousness to a machine all the same, then again it does not mean we won't be able to nether.

Whether or not something would be lost in translation is the real question?

Are we more than the sum of our parts and all that jazz.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: InTheLight

You wish the thing to take psychedelics now? LoL

Don't think there would be much effect given the nature of the beast in question, that being nonbiological.

One can only imagine what an AI on digital '___' would envisage all the same.

I have no idea to be honest.

I didn't mean for the thing to take it, but it was more of a questioning as to how could the thing possibly compute/understand(?) the human's mind/consciousness journey with that as well as other biological journeys, such as visions (deja vu), meditative trances, dreams, imagination, and so forth.

a reply to: InTheLight

We are a thing and we manage to accommodate consciousness, just a thought.

As to how a machine intelligence would accomplish such an understanding? Well, that remains to be seen, but ever-increasing levels of complexity and design would be my bet.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: InTheLight

We are a thing and we manage to accommodate consciousness, just a thought.

As to how a machine intelligence would accomplish such an understanding? Well, that remains to be seen, but ever-increasing levels of complexity and design would be my bet.

We are a biological animated sentient thing, which makes all the difference.

Again, if psychology data (did they get it right yet?) is fed into the computer, the computer can only work with what it's given, again GIGO.

a reply to: InTheLight

A badly designed biological animated sentient thing at that. Wheres the redundancies?

You can only work with the information available.

GIGO would also explain the greater part of the human race if truth be told. LoL

a reply to: andy06shake

Perhaps it would considering it really is not part of the human race and could be fed pro and con information so that it's responses would perhaps be in a question format or in a 'does not compute' format.

a reply to: InTheLight

You have lost me now buddy, i mean it would be obvious that its was not part of our race given its digital nature and existence.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: InTheLight

You have lost me now buddy, i mean it would be obvious that its was not part of our race given its digital nature and existence.

My response was that if it stepped into what we could describe as a conscious non-biological AI that it would then be a new sentient life form and it's responses would come from that side of the coin. Yet, we are its creator, therefore it would be part of the human race in that respect.

a reply to: InTheLight

I imagine just like with most life forms situation and environment may indeed dictate response.

Your talking about giving the thing a body?

Suppose it would have its purpose but you might also be limiting the thing in ways we have yet to fully understand.