Building Brainlike Computers

newtronic clues us to an article in IEEE Spectrum by Jeff Hawkins (founder of Palm Computing), titled Why can't a computer be more like a brain? Hawkins brings us up to date with his latest endeavor, Numenta. He covers progress since his book On Intelligence and gives details on Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM), which is a platform for simulating neocortical activity. Programming HTMs is different — you essentially feed them sensory data. Numenta has created a framework and tools, free in a "research release," that allow anyone to build and program HTMs.

I built a brainlike computer, but it wasn't useful

[Anonymous Coward]

It spent most of the time watching TV all stoned. Too many receptors.

End of civilization

[Anonymous Coward]

Because it would signal the end of civilization...if computers can look like women (porn), feel like women (Realdolls), and think like women (have a brain, at least in some cases), then all procreation would cease and humans would suffer the same fate as the dinosaurs.

Re:this is stupid

[cyphercell]

Next you'll say that we're incapable of growing ears on rats right?

How long before...

[alberion]

...comps get lazy and start reading /. instead of working?

Re:this is stupid

[Anonymous Coward]

you must be lost. this is a science website.

Re:End of civilization

[morari]

Mystery solved! Dinosaurs went extinct because they developed super-sexy "DinoBots" and thus became disinterested in actual sex...

Re:this is stupid

[Anonymous Coward]

Ofcourse we don't grow ears on rats. We grow them on mice!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1949073.stm [bbc.co.uk]

Re:End of civilization

[Bluesman]

Careful . . . I don't think you want your super sexy real doll to think like an actual woman.

That is, unless you want your old doll to get jealous of the new one and steal half your money and burn your house down.

Re:this is stupid

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a fact that god created man.

Do not insult the Great Noodly One. He, the FSM, did not create man. rather, he opened a large box of CrackerJack and there inside was the prize, Man. At least that's one theory espoused by the Reverend Chef Boyardee. And no less credible than yours.

Off-Topic

[oringo]

Please take your professional/scientific reviews to real scientific journals. Only bitter/ignorant jokes are acceptable on /.

Re:Interesting, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

"doesn't have desires, motives, or intentions of any kind"

. . .It can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with.
It doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear-
and it absolutely will not stop, ever. . .

A question arises though:

[Anonymous Coward]

If you fed a zombie a brainlike computer, would he be satisfied? or would you instead have to invent a robot zombie to consume said computer?

Re:Interesting, but...

[cain]

Hawkins' book On Intelligence is interesting reading.

Please go on.

There are a lot of good ideas in there.

Would you like it if they were not a lot of good ideas in there?

From my perspective as an AI / neuroscience researcher, the main weakness in his approach is that he only thinks about the cortex, whereas many other brain structures, notably the basal ganglia, are increasingly becoming implicated as having a fundamental role in intelligence.

Why do you say your perspective as an ai neuroscience researcher the main weakness in his approach is that he only thinks about the cortex whereas many other brain structures notably the basal ganglia are increasingly becoming implicated as having a fundamental role in intelligence?

This quote from the article is telling:

Please go on.

Well, my goal is to build machines that pass the Turing Test, so I have to think about more than cortex.

Why do you mention computers?

But more generally, one might wonder how much of intelligence it is possible to capture with a system that "doesn't have desires, motives, or intentions of any kind".

Does that question interest you?

Re:this is stupid

[Bloke down the pub]

I'm just saying that the human brain is a thing made by god

In atheist Russia, God is made by the human brain!!!!