New $1.6B supercomputer project will attempt to simulate the human brain
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Re: New $1.6B supercomputer project will attempt to simulate the human brain
#2This video/lecture is rather long, but it's an excellent introduction to what the Blue Brain Project is working on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gFI7o69VJM&list=PLgO7JBj...
That was back when Henry Markram was still collaborating with IBM. It explores some of the intricacies of reverse engineering neurons and the human brain.
Another good source of information is the Whole Brain Emulation Roadmap:
http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2/brain-emulation-roadmap-repo...
This was the funding proposal that they sent for the Human Brain Project:
Re: New $1.6B supercomputer project will attempt to simulate the human brain
#3"...an international group of researchers has secured $1.6 billion..."
An international group of researchers has scammed $1.6 billion away. And that's with EU taxpayers money.
Do you really think that anyone involved in deciding to allow that kind of spending has any idea as to where we're at nowadays regarding AI? Did any of them read "On Intelligence" (its author knowing more than a thing or two about AI)?
I'm sure not. And I'm not happy my taxpayers dollars are funding this.
I'm all for research and fundings going to research.
But this one is going to be a gigantic waste not leading to anything. And in ten years people will apologize and explain why "x is not AI", "y is not AI" and why it was a gigantic waste.
On a positive sidenote $1.6 bn for the duration of this project is peanuts compared to the yearly $140 bn the UE is spending ; )
Re: New $1.6B supercomputer project will attempt to simulate the human brain
#4"...an international group of researchers has secured $1.6 billion..." An international group of researchers has scammed $1.6 billion away. And that's with EU taxpayers money. Do you really think that anyone involved in deciding to allow that kind of spending has any idea as to where we're at nowadays regarding AI? Did any of them read "On Intelligence" (its author knowing more than a thing or two about AI)? I'm sure…
You're sure that every member of a worldwide collection of top neuroscientists has no idea about where we're at nowadays regarding AI? Really?
Re: New $1.6B supercomputer project will attempt to simulate the human brain
#5"...an international group of researchers has secured $1.6 billion..." An international group of researchers has scammed $1.6 billion away. And that's with EU taxpayers money. Do you really think that anyone involved in deciding to allow that kind of spending has any idea as to where we're at nowadays regarding AI? Did any of them read "On Intelligence" (its author knowing more than a thing or two about AI)? I'm sure…
You're sure that every member of a worldwide collection of top neuroscientists has no idea about where we're at nowadays regarding AI? Really?
Of course he's sure. He's a hacker. A maker, man. If we were that close to simulating a human brain there would be implementations up on github already, waiting for a $1.6B supercomputer to become available to run it.
Re: New $1.6B supercomputer project will attempt to simulate the human brain
#6This is fascinating. In a previous life, my job was building/running supers at a DOE lab, and while the work done on the machines were quite interesting, the really grandiose projects were all physics related (supernova simulation, liquid salt reactor cooling, jet combustion, etc.)
The biological projects were still cool and I'm certain they were important, but they were harder to relate to (ion channel simulation, behavior of water in confined spaces, etc.), mostly biochemistry.
This could provide a nice bit of press to the large scale HPC community, which sometimes suffers from its association with DoD and the "other, darker side" of the DOE. (Or other non-US equivalents.)
Re: New $1.6B supercomputer project will attempt to simulate the human brain
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're sure that every member of a worldwide collection of top neuroscientists has no idea about where we're at nowadays regarding AI? Really?
Of course he's sure. He's a hacker. A maker, man. If we were that close to simulating a human brain there would be implementations up on github already, waiting for a $1.6B supercomputer to become available to run it.
> If we were that close to simulating a human brain there would be implementations up on github already
IIRC, the Blue Brain Project uses NEURON.
hg clone http://www.neuron.yale.edu/hg/neuron/nrnRe: New $1.6B supercomputer project will attempt to simulate the human brain
#8"...an international group of researchers has secured $1.6 billion..." An international group of researchers has scammed $1.6 billion away. And that's with EU taxpayers money. Do you really think that anyone involved in deciding to allow that kind of spending has any idea as to where we're at nowadays regarding AI? Did any of them read "On Intelligence" (its author knowing more than a thing or two about AI)? I'm sure…
Their goal is not to create an AI, it is to create a model of the human brain. If you look at their website, you will notice the project is very much a neuroscience research project, not a computer science, AI, research project. The fact that the technical implantation of this project requires specially designed computers and highly algorithms (which will likely merit their own computer science papers), and the fact that this project might produce benefits for computing, does not change the fact that the goal is to understand the human brain through computer modelling, not to create a strong AI.
Re: New $1.6B supercomputer project will attempt to simulate the human brain
#9"...an international group of researchers has secured $1.6 billion..." An international group of researchers has scammed $1.6 billion away. And that's with EU taxpayers money. Do you really think that anyone involved in deciding to allow that kind of spending has any idea as to where we're at nowadays regarding AI? Did any of them read "On Intelligence" (its author knowing more than a thing or two about AI)? I'm sure…
There's more information about the project here: http://www.humanbrainproject.eu/
http://www.humanbrainproject.eu/files/HBP_flagship.pdf
The project is not actually as absurd as it sounds -- the funding is over 10 years, and it's funding a large number of different research programs in molecular neuroscience (8%), cognitive neuroscience (12%), theoretical neuroscience (6%), neuroinformatics (7%), medical informatics (6%), brain simulation (10%), HPC (18%), neuromorphic computing (14%), robotics (11%), and society/ethics (2%). About half of the budget is going to personnel / students, and the research is being done by a large consortium of established PIs.
Basically, they're creating a "European Institute of Neuroscience". IMHO, the way that it's been branded as as a giant "brain simulation" makes it look a little silly to other scientists -- but on the other hand it seems to have worked pretty well with the politicians.
Re: New $1.6B supercomputer project will attempt to simulate the human brain
#10"...an international group of researchers has secured $1.6 billion..." An international group of researchers has scammed $1.6 billion away. And that's with EU taxpayers money. Do you really think that anyone involved in deciding to allow that kind of spending has any idea as to where we're at nowadays regarding AI? Did any of them read "On Intelligence" (its author knowing more than a thing or two about AI)? I'm sure…
This is such a weird comment I wonder if you were being serious or even read the article.
Are you seriously responding to an article about a research consortium (using a Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist as an outreach person) by suggesting that they haven't read a book by a tech magnate and a science writer)? I mean, nobody would suggest that Jeff Hawkins is a slouch, but get real. These people are not bumpkins tilting at research money windmills because they haven't seen the light in the best-seller aisle.