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What is missing for AI to become a human brain? (articles in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and at Princeton University Press)

F.A.Z. Digitec

What is missing for AI to become a human brain? (articles in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and at Princeton University Press)

June 22, 2021

The German newpaper Frankfurther Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) has published the article ‘Was der Künstlichen Intelligenz zum menschlichen Gehirn fehlt’ both in print and online (paywalled, unfortunately). It translates to ‘What AI is missing to become a human brain’. Similar English articles can be found here at The Self-Assembling Brain and at Princeton University Press.

June 8 release in the UK and Europe

June 9, 2021

One month after the May 4 release in the US, The Self-Assembling Brain has just been released in the UK and Europe! Thanks to a wonderful review in the journal Science, and a very well-attended lecture and discussion at the Royal Institution, The Self-Assembling Brain has hit it off well on the Amazon bestseller lists in the US, UK and…

Review of The Self-Assembling Brain in the Journal Science

May 21, 2021

‘What AI can learn from the biological brain‘ is the title of a new review of The Self-Assembling Brain in the journal Science, published in the May 21 issue. This is an expert review, right on target, including both positively and critically assessed points. If you are looking for a critical summary of the book – this is the one!

What can we learn from image compression about the genetic encoding of brain wiring?

May 15, 2021

You can describe a digital image by describing the coordinate and color of every individual pixel, meaning each of the smallest component ‘dots’ that together make up the picture.  Since pictures taken with modern cell phones and cameras have an ever increasing resolution, this leads to rather large image files to save and send to friends.  Fortunately, most images can…

ERC Advanced Grant for ‘Synaptic Promiscuity in Brain Development’

April 24, 2021

Peter Robin Hiesinger has been selected for the highest grant award for established scientists in the European Union. According the the European Research Commission (ERC), Advanced Grants are awarded to exceptional leaders in terms of originality and significance of their research contributions. The 2020 competition was particularly fierce, with a success rate of less than 8%. The question of synaptic…

Is the structure of the adult human brain a sufficient model…

April 16, 2021

…for building artificially intelligent neural networks? Absolutely not is the message of The Self-Assembling Brain. Developmental processes are shown to be central to learning, both in the growth of the brain and continuing through in adult intelligence. This book could be a game changer. Mark Lee, author of How to Grow a Robot

Didn’t DeepMind just produce a self-learning AI?

April 15, 2021

Yes, they did.  MuZero was published just before Christmas 2020, and is arguably the most advanced artificial neural network based on reinforcement learning out there right now.  Its predecessor, AlphaZero already had the ability to teach itself both chess and Go (another two-person zero-sum-game without random elements).  AlphaZero beat world champions, but needed one important bit of information to learn:…

The Self-Assembling Brain considers an interesting and timely topic…

April 4, 2021

…the relationship between what we know about how biological brains develop and the principles by which artificial intelligence networks are designed. Beginning with a fascinating historical debate, this book takes an ambitious look at a big and important area. I learned many things from new and diverse perspectives, which is exactly what I would expect from a book like this.…