What is meant by the holy grail of artificial intelligence? To think like humans! But, to think like human brains is a tough act to follow. As widely known, the human brain masters in applying previously learned knowledge in new situations, and constantly refines what is learned. This ability of human brains to be adaptive is hard to be copied.
In an effort to investigate the functioning of the human brain, Salk researchers used a computational model to simulate the functioning of brain activity more closely than previously done any other time. Regarding the new model, it mimics how the prefrontal cortex of the brain uses a thing known as ‘gating’ to check the flow of information between different areas of neurons. Meanwhile, the model only throws light on the human brain, but could also act as the basis of new artificial intelligence programs.
Scale-up of Computational Model to find use in complex AI Systems
“If the model can be scaled up, it can be used in more complex artificial intelligence systems, and this may allow these systems to learn faster or find new solutions to problems,” said the head of Computational Neurobiology Laboratory at Salk and lead author of the research.
In fact, the brains of humans and other mammals are known for their ability for quick processing of stimuli, for example, sight and sound. Moreover, the human brain and brain of mammals can integrate any new information into information already that it already knows.
And, this has been the goal of researchers for a long time engaged in designing machine learning programs. To develop flexibility of the brain in artificial intelligence systems and apply knowledge to new situations and learn continuously over a lifetime.