Comments on: The Mind and How to Build One http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-mind-and-how-to-build-one Accelerating Intelligence Thu, 23 May 2013 02:06:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Granola http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-mind-and-how-to-build-one/comment-page-1#comment-1687 Granola Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:39:21 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=97302#comment-1687 Luckily, it's a lot easier to reverse-engineer something than it is to understand it. We've already been doing it for a while with smaller regions of the brain, as Kurzweil has noted. Luckily, it’s a lot easier to reverse-engineer something than it is to understand it. We’ve already been doing it for a while with smaller regions of the brain, as Kurzweil has noted.

]]> By: melajara http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-mind-and-how-to-build-one/comment-page-1#comment-1181 melajara Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:52:50 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=97302#comment-1181 Let's start by fully reverse engineer tiny brains with circa 100'000 neurons but brains nevertheless capable of amazing feats (e.g. bees who solve everyday 'on the fly' an equivalent of the salesman travelling problem, i.e. the optimized order of flowers visitation to spare their tiny resources). Think of it that way, the humble bees seemingly suggesting that actually P = NP ! By the way, the true power and capability of a single neuron is grossly underestimated IMHO, and so is the implicit computational power of chemical pathways among neurons (neurotransmitters). It's even possible that some form of quantum computation is harnessed at some infra level of neural activity, unravelling incredible hidden powers. Remember, for ancient engineers, the brain was like a complex set of connected clepsydra, then cogs, then an electrical switchboard and now most proponents of strong AI are still thinking the "wetware" would be in principle reducible (emulated) in purely electrical "neural nets". But each age is revealling a new order of complexity with implicit computations performed herein. The current view, even Kurzweil's one, is very probably still way too much simplist. I'm still longing for a functionalist computational equivalent of a fly brain. Let's do it before attacking the bigger version we are endowed with! Unfortunately, we are still very very far from understanding the true capability of a bee brain. At the root of evil, again and again, hubris and over confidence in the possible achievements of a too reductionist epistemology... Let’s start by fully reverse engineer tiny brains with circa 100’000 neurons but brains nevertheless capable of amazing feats (e.g. bees who solve everyday ‘on the fly’ an equivalent of the salesman travelling problem, i.e. the optimized order of flowers visitation to spare their tiny resources). Think of it that way, the humble bees seemingly suggesting that actually P = NP !

By the way, the true power and capability of a single neuron is grossly underestimated IMHO, and so is the implicit computational power of chemical pathways among neurons (neurotransmitters). It’s even possible that some form of quantum computation is harnessed at some infra level of neural activity, unravelling incredible hidden powers.

Remember, for ancient engineers, the brain was like a complex set of connected clepsydra, then cogs, then an electrical switchboard and now most proponents of strong AI are still thinking the “wetware” would be in principle reducible (emulated) in purely electrical “neural nets”. But each age is revealling a new order of complexity with implicit computations performed herein. The current view, even Kurzweil’s one, is very probably still way too much simplist.

I’m still longing for a functionalist computational equivalent of a fly brain. Let’s do it before attacking the bigger version we are endowed with!

Unfortunately, we are still very very far from understanding the true capability of a bee brain.

At the root of evil, again and again, hubris and over confidence in the possible achievements of a too reductionist epistemology…

]]> By: dragger2k http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-mind-and-how-to-build-one/comment-page-1#comment-473 dragger2k Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:42:48 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=97302#comment-473 building a brain is NOT the equivalent of building a mind. building a brain is NOT the equivalent of building a mind.

]]> By: kendall http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-mind-and-how-to-build-one/comment-page-1#comment-427 kendall Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:11:50 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=97302#comment-427 How long til the book is available? Psyched about it. And will it be available in the ibookstore or on the kindle? How long til the book is available? Psyched about it. And will it be available in the ibookstore or on the kindle?

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