Scientists in Australia have secured funding for a groundbreaking project that aims to combine the human brain with artificial intelligence (AI) for lifelong learning. The researchers, affiliated with Monash University and Melbourne-based startup Cortical Labs, plan to explore the potential of merging biology with AI to advance machine learning capabilities.
A grant of over $400,000 has been allocated from Australia’s budget to support the project, which builds upon the researchers’ previous achievement of teaching a test-tube-grown brain to play ping-pong on a computer. The team believes that combining AI with the human brain could revolutionize machine learning and have applications in various sectors such as self-driving cars, autonomous drones, and delivery robots.
By mimicking the human brain’s lifelong learning ability, the researchers hope to develop AI systems capable of acquiring new skills without losing existing ones. This marks a significant departure from current AI technology, which often suffers from catastrophic forgetting and struggles to retain previously learned information.
To investigate the process of continuous lifelong learning, the researchers plan to grow brain cells in a lab dish known as DishBrain. Although a highly ambitious project, it has the potential to unlock new frontiers in planning, robotics, advanced automation, brain-machine interfaces, and drug development.
Team leader Adil Razi, an associate professor at Monash University, emphasized the goal of creating artificial intelligence systems that replicate the learnability of biological neural networks. He expressed his belief that this could lead to the development of hardware and methods capable of replacing traditional silicon chip-based computing.
Previously, Cortical Labs made waves by creating a mini-brain composed of approximately 800,000 living human brain cells in a petri dish. These cells were connected to microelectrodes that analyzed neural activity, resulting in a cyborg-like brain. The researchers discovered that the mini-brain learned to play a simplified version of ping-pong astonishingly quickly, outperforming the AI system in terms of learning capabilities.
The implications of this research are significant, as it could shape the future of AI and human-machine interactions. While the project is expected to take considerable time to yield results, the potential impact on fields such as automation, transportation, and medicine is immense.
In a separate development, Elon Musk’s Neuralink company recently obtained permission to implant a chip in the human brain. This decision, despite initial tests resulting in the death of over 1,500 animals, underscores the growing interest in merging biology with technology to unlock new possibilities.
