Neural map of worm brain uploaded to robot

[totjup5]

Somehow they've managed to map a worm's brain and upload it into a robot that now behaves like a worm. A bit creepy, but this is a pretty big step for AI.

 

Quote: "Take the connectome of a worm and transplant it as software in a Lego Mindstorms EV3 robot - what happens next?

It is a deep and long standing philosophical question. Are we just the sum of our neural networks. Of course, if you work in AI you take the answer mostly for granted, but until someone builds a human brain and switches it on we really don't have a concrete example of the principle in action."

 

 

Source: http://www.i-programmer.info/news/105-artificial-intelligence/7985-a-worms-mind-in-a-lego-body.html

[Speedyv]

Only a matter of time....

[Sidiox]

Transcendence anyone?

[Jaybird]

But humans have souls. Something man simply cannot create.

[Imabigmac]

I don't think people give enough thought to the whole Artificial Intelligence subject. 

[Jerakl]

Just wait until they do this to a human.

 

Or another animal. The PETA hate will be real.

[patrickjp93]

But humans have souls. Something man simply cannot create.

That is pre-supposed, but what if that hypothesis is wrong?

[Deletive]

The more I read the more I believe Elon musk about his 5 year timeline.

[Jaybird]

That is pre-supposed, but what if that hypothesis is wrong?

Brain doctors can elaborate on this more but the last I heard, some years ago, that during surgery they can poke the brain and cause body parts to move. But when try ask the patent to not move their body part and the doc repokes the brain, the body part does not move.

[Toxiguana]

Wow, this is super cool.  Possibilities of AI aside, this is a big step in the process of understanding how the brain works and could potentially lead to some more neuroscience breakthroughs. 

[Deli]

I want to know who is gonna win/survive? Genetics modified super-human or A.I. cyborg?

[thekeemo]

[

[mvitkun]

Brain doctors can elaborate on this more but the last I heard, some years ago, that during surgery they can poke the brain and cause body parts to move. But when try ask the patent to not move their body part and the doc repokes the brain, the body part does not move.

I find that very hard to believe, that study must've been flawed.

[StingBull]

How the hell does that work? Do worm brains come in easily programmable C++?

[Polyvalent]

A reason I think it'd be implausible to do something similar with the human brain.  There are an immense number of variables in the human body that affect how a human thinks and functions.  We are many, many years off from being able to recreate something that complex.

[patrickjp93]

Brain doctors can elaborate on this more but the last I heard, some years ago, that during surgery they can poke the brain and cause body parts to move. But when try ask the patent to not move their body part and the doc repokes the brain, the body part does not move.

It may be a language barrier issue, but I don't understand your explanation.

[patrickjp93]

How the hell does that work? Do worm brains come in easily programmable C++?

Crack open an AI textbook and keep reading through until neural networks. That's when it gets juicy.

[patrickjp93]

A reason I think it'd be implausible to do something similar with the human brain. There are an immense number of variables in the human body that affect how a human thinks and functions. We are many, many years off from being able to recreate something that complex.

Not really. Between Nvidia and IBM you can set up a distributed computing system with enough cores and programmable neurons to full simulate a human brain. It'll be a multi-billion dollar investment, but it can be done with current tech and programming.

[ionbasa]

But humans have souls. Something man simply cannot create.

Or do we have souls.? The definition of a soul, is intangible (pun not intended). What makes a soul? Do other beings have souls, like cats, dogs, wolves, and other animals?

 

Biologists will tell you that any living organism is basically biological clockwork, and that different organs work together to do different things, this holds true even down to the subcellular level. Do our mitochondria have souls? Do they decide when to produce ATP based off what their feeling are? Such a thing seems silly to ask, but if applies to the whole of the system (a human), why not the sub-systems (cellular and molecular level)?

 

As you can see, this question is hard to answer, and in a way is a sort of paradox. 

 

If you define a 'soul' as an emotional and metaphysical object, then I guess you might be able to get away with the argument you made, but we feel and comprehend emotions based on our ability to interpret information, the same goes for our metaphysical principle of 'the self'. We are shape, adapt, learn, and express emotions due to our experiences. In the end, our brains are nothing more than a series of neurons, sending electrical pulses to one another, interpreting information.

 

PS: I'm not arguing with your statement, I'm just looking at it in a different light. Sometime taking a different angle, can help everyones understanding of the subject.

[zacRupnow]

But humans have souls. Something man simply cannot create.

soul is a made up idea just like all religions

[ShadowCaptain]

inb4 we are all dead

[SpaceCore]

[OlekKing]

But humans have souls. Something man simply cannot create.

Wow, i hoped that was satire. Then i saw Texas beneath his avatar and it all made sense (not wanting to generalize everyone in there, but hey)...

[OlekKing]

inb4 we are all dead

Can you imagine an invasion of robot worms that can pierce through anything like it was dirt?

[ShadowCaptain]

Can you imagine an invasion of robot worms that can pierce through anything like it was dirt?

 

I can and did

 

I was imagining driller from transformers