Saturday, September 8, 2007

Brains and Wings

Fascinating article at Developing Intelligence pointing out that for all the similarities between brains and computers, there are some serious differences as well.

My take: guy knows a lot about brains and a lot about computers, no question. But I'm not so sure you should draw the conclusion that AI is more difficult than it is already perceived to be.

"These airplanes, sure they can fly but they're completely different from birds' wings or bugs' wings. They don't move, for one. They're not self-repairing (within limits.) The surface of an animal's wing is almost infinitely more complex than that of a an airplane's, fantastically ordered on a scale an artificial wing can't possibly but match."

All true. But when you get down to brass tacks, wings are made for flying whether they're attached to a hummingbird or a helicopter, and brains and computers are both designed for processing information. Tell me again which wing it is that breaks the sound barrier?

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