Why We Should Build a Supercomputer Replica of the Human Brain 393
An anonymous reader sends this excerpt from Wired:
"[Henry] Markram was proposing a project that has bedeviled AI researchers for decades, that most had presumed was impossible. He wanted to build a working mind from the ground up. ... The self-assured scientist claims that the only thing preventing scientists from understanding the human brain in its entirety — from the molecular level all the way to the mystery of consciousness — is a lack of ambition. If only neuroscience would follow his lead, he insists, his Human Brain Project could simulate the functions of all 86 billion neurons in the human brain, and the 100 trillion connections that link them. And once that's done, once you've built a plug-and-play brain, anything is possible. You could take it apart to figure out the causes of brain diseases. You could rig it to robotics and develop a whole new range of intelligent technologies. You could strap on a pair of virtual reality glasses and experience a brain other than your own."
Yeah! (Score:5, Funny)
You are not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported to God.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:These people need to watch more movies... (Score:4, Funny)
This is why I regularly thank my toaster.
Re:And who's brain will it model? (Score:5, Funny)
I think the stake holders need to think about that simple question. The last thing we need is some sentient silicon running around like a pestilent child lobbing nukes between hemispheres for fun.
Pestilent children are the worst, with all their plagues and their boils and their oozing pustules.
Re:Sentience? (Score:5, Funny)
Sentience? I bet it won't be capable of meaningful phrases!
C'mon. You can model every circuit in the brain - and assuming it's really just like a big, deterministic watch works, you could still get a Jerry Falwell or Ryan Seacrest instead of a sentient being.
This will only CREATE jobs for people (Score:4, Funny)
Robots will be so good at complex tasks that they will find it overkill to use one for simple tasks. They'll simply say, why waste a robot on this task when we have all of these stupid humans who are willing to do it for basically nothing. Half the quality at an eighth the price. Can't beat that.
Re:Skynet (Score:4, Funny)
Re:As a developer... (Score:5, Funny)
How do you know you're not trapped inside a computer right now?
2 reasons:
1 - no respawn
2 - my cat won't respond to regular expressions
Re:Sentience? (Score:5, Funny)
If it's on the internet, maybe it will post to Slashdot as an A/C.
you insensitive clod!
some of us simulations have registered accounts!
Re:One teensy detail (Score:4, Funny)
We now know that the human glia cells -- well, some of them, anyhow -- when injected into mouse brains, make them human-smart mice.
Really? How did we test this hypothesis -- watch and see if any of the mice tried to take over the world?
Re:And who's brain will it model? (Score:5, Funny)
And naturally a petulant pestilent child is that much worse.
Re:And who's brain will it model? (Score:5, Funny)
The last thing we need is some sentient silicon running around like a pestilent child lobbing nukes between hemispheres for fun.
If scientists persist in trying to play God with projects like this, they are going to unleash the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse:
War, Famine, Death, and Petulance.
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Re:One teensy detail (Score:5, Funny)
I saw a documentary about that... It *was* a documentary right?
Re:Skynet (Score:3, Funny)
$ csh
$ Why rub two sticks together?
Why: No match.
Re:Non-human rights? (Score:5, Funny)
I think Mr. Markram is one lab accident away from a supervillain.