Comments on: SPAUN of the living

SPAUN of the living

kliuless — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 06:09:00 -0800

The simulated brain - "First computer model to produce complex behaviour performs almost as well as humans at simple number tasks." [1,2,3,4,5,etc.]

By: jeffburdges

jeffburdges — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 06:16:05 -0800

Very cool. Anyone played with the software yet?

By: LogicalDash

LogicalDash — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 06:34:57 -0800

right here, jeff

By: codacorolla

codacorolla — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 06:35:02 -0800

For those curious, here's a wiki list of animals ranked by neuron count. SPAUN is like two cockroach brains taped together.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 06:36:40 -0800

Semantic Pointer Architecture Unified Network, which is short for "we wanted a cool acronym".

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 06:46:54 -0800

SPAUN is like two cockroach brains taped together. I didn't realize they were able to replicate [insert politician name]'s brain already!

By: deathpanels

deathpanels — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 07:06:08 -0800

*Looks at title* Teehee. :)

By: Mooseli

Mooseli — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 07:13:14 -0800

Alright, so, how am I revising my Singularity Calendar? 50 years now? 40?

By: LogicalDash

LogicalDash — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 07:26:22 -0800

The trouble is that several technological singularities have actually occurred in recent memory. Who guessed right about the explosion in cell phone usage and social networks? Not even DARPA anticipated what a big deal the internet would be.

By: FatherDagon

FatherDagon — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 07:29:21 -0800

Maybe it's just my reflexive anti-robot prejudices showing, but I totally thought the headline said the electrobrain was performing 'simple murder tasks'.

By: IjonTichy

IjonTichy — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 07:45:31 -0800

Alright, so, how am I revising my Singularity Calendar? 50 years now? 40? Well, it's been "40 years away" for several decades now, so that seems like a good bet.

By: JibberJabber

JibberJabber — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 08:14:44 -0800

We are now just a few decades away from the Butlerian Jihad because of this...

By: StrangerInAStrainedLand

StrangerInAStrainedLand — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 09:42:38 -0800

SPAUN is like two cockroach brains taped together. Metafilter: It's like two cockroach brains taped together.

By: LogicalDash

LogicalDash — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 10:33:08 -0800

Yeah, so if you happen to have a beefy computer and lots of free time, you can download SPAUN and run it yourself.

By: Grangousier

Grangousier — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 10:46:21 -0800

SPAUN is like two cockroach brains taped together. So basically they have a computer that obsesses about crumbs, breeds like nobody's business, and just disappears when you turn on the light?

By: BungaDunga

BungaDunga — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 11:02:50 -0800

- This model requires a machine with at least 24GB of RAM to run the full implementation. Estimated run times for a quad-core 2.5GHz are 3 hours per 1 second of simulation time. Think I'm gonna need an upgrade.

By: psycho-alchemy

psycho-alchemy — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 12:10:14 -0800

So the scientists behind this model did a AMA (ask me anything) interview over at reddit a couple of days ago. Probably one of the best ones ever, IMO. Linky

By: the painkiller

the painkiller — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 12:29:58 -0800

Next step: hooking it up to a cup of tea. Next next step: hooking it up to a quadcopter.

By: Twang

Twang — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 18:16:29 -0800

Singularity ... that's where all the stuff collapses into a black pile at the bottom of the pit and stops emitting light ... becoming nothing more than a danger to anything passing nearby ... and only creates light when it rips something apart. Right? And we're supposed to look forward to this?

By: Laotic

Laotic — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 23:36:23 -0800

I would not be hoping for a "singularity" just yet. If we simulate the brain, we might just discover that the reason why humans forget, are emotionally unstable and suffer from mental disorders is just part and parcel of how our brains are built. In short, I have always thought that our higher purpose on this world might just as well be to help create a superior intelligence, but also that if we just replicate ourselves, we will not end up with superinteligent robots, but rather artificial humans who would refuse to cooperate if not motivated properly, etc. Also, an integral part of the artificial brain's function is the range of peripherals. Unless they match ours, the artificial brain will not be able to comprehend humans. But I have little doubt that those peripherals are also coming. Eventually, we will find the right balance of memory, obedience and physical capability to create a sentient, obedient servant who'll not only grow our food, but help us solve problems. In light of all this, I'd like to raise my glass of brandy and say that I, for one, welcome our new robot slaves!

By: delmoi

delmoi — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 00:17:14 -0800

So Currently it can handle 2.5 million neurons, and the human brain has 86 billion? That's only a 40,000. 16 more doublings and it will be able to handle it. If mores law keeps up, that's 20 years. On the other hand, you can go out and buy 40,000 PCs today - and theoretically have that much computing power right now, and of course people have tried it. Anyway, the thing to keep in mind is that human brain cells are much more complicated then the simple level-trigger "on off" switches that people typically use in simulating neural networks. There could be things going on inside the cells, not just in terms of their connections.

The simulated brain - "First computer model to produce complex behaviour performs almost as well as humans at simple number tasks."

That can't be right. Can a human brain solve "(234234068984 + 724320025843)^√2 = x" faster than a computer? Or is that somehow not a "simple number task"? Guessing the next number in a sequence like "n = n_-1 + n_-2" or "n = n_-1 + 1" but testing lots and lots of potential combinations very quickly. Maybe it's the first "Neural Network" model to be able to do so.

By: simen

simen — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 06:34:12 -0800

Delmoi, you should go read that AMA linked further up. It answers a lot of your questions.

By: kliuless

kliuless — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 10:49:08 -0800

Meaning on the Brain: How Your Mind Organizes Reality