Monday, January 21, 2008

Jeff Hawkins - Brain Science Is About To Fundamentally Change Computing

I continue to be dubious of the metaphor of the brain as a computer -- and that computing will ever be able to create a machine able to simulate the complexity of human thought and/or consciousness. Still the attempts are interesting.

Jeff Hawkins, in his TED Talk, argues that the brain is more like a memory system that records everything we experience and helps us predict, intelligently, what will happen next. I think is a better metaphor, but still partial.

To date, there hasn't been an overarching theory of how the human brain really works, Jeff Hawkins argues in this compelling talk. That's because we still haven't defined intelligence accurately. But one thing's for sure, he says: The brain isn't like a powerful computer processor. It's more like a memory system that records everything we experience and helps us predict, intelligently, what will happen next. Bringing this new brain science to computer devices will enable powerful new applications -- and it will happen sooner than you think.





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