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Human Brain Simulation
The neocortex is the structure in the brain that differentiates mammals from other vertebrates
and it is assumed that the neocortex is responsible for the evolution of intelligence. It has
been found that the neocortex is the "most progressive structure" in the brain. This means that
when comparing across the different orders and suborders, the neocortex of Insectivora is 2.7
larger than Tenrecinae; in prosimians, 21 times larger; in nonhuman simians, 51 times larger;
and in man, 200 times larger.
Swiss scientists and IBM have announced plans to create a detailed digital model of a human
neocortical column. A neocortical column is only about a half a millimeter square and two
millimeters long but since the neocortical column is replicated millions of times in the brain, the
knowledge of how one such column functions will be quite valuable.
The scientific community has gathered a great deal of data over the last 10 years and will
apply this knowledge to the design of a computer model of the neocortical column.
The next step, of course, is to reduce this model to a custom integrated circuit and create an
array of a million of such chips. This would form a model of the human neocortex.
There are many different research teams working toward this goal. Some researchers are
creating neural integrated circuits, which, of course, are not yet exactly like the desired
elements in the neocortex. Once the simulation of a single neocortical column is confirmed to
duplicate a real one as it functions in a brain, we will have the basis for designing a neural
integrated circuit which will be an accurate representation of the original neocortical column.
Once the final neocortex is constructed from neocortical column chips, it will think at a much
higher speed than the human neocortex, of course.
Seribot
The neocortex is the structure in the brain that differentiates mammals from other vertebrates
and it is assumed that the neocortex is responsible for the evolution of intelligence. It has
been found that the neocortex is the "most progressive structure" in the brain. This means that
when comparing across the different orders and suborders, the neocortex of Insectivora is 2.7
larger than Tenrecinae; in prosimians, 21 times larger; in nonhuman simians, 51 times larger;
and in man, 200 times larger.
Swiss scientists and IBM have announced plans to create a detailed digital model of a human
neocortical column. A neocortical column is only about a half a millimeter square and two
millimeters long but since the neocortical column is replicated millions of times in the brain, the
knowledge of how one such column functions will be quite valuable.
The scientific community has gathered a great deal of data over the last 10 years and will
apply this knowledge to the design of a computer model of the neocortical column.
The next step, of course, is to reduce this model to a custom integrated circuit and create an
array of a million of such chips. This would form a model of the human neocortex.
There are many different research teams working toward this goal. Some researchers are
creating neural integrated circuits, which, of course, are not yet exactly like the desired
elements in the neocortex. Once the simulation of a single neocortical column is confirmed to
duplicate a real one as it functions in a brain, we will have the basis for designing a neural
integrated circuit which will be an accurate representation of the original neocortical column.
Once the final neocortex is constructed from neocortical column chips, it will think at a much
higher speed than the human neocortex, of course.
Seribot
Seribot, The Serious Robot