How brain-like circuits could push computing power to the next level:
For the first time, my colleagues and I have built a single electronic device that is capable of copying the functions of neuron cells in a brain. We then connected 20 of them together to perform a complicated calculation. This work shows that it is scientifically possible to make an advanced computer that does not rely on transistors to calculate and that uses much less electrical power than today's data centers.
Our research, which I began in 2004, was motivated by two questions. Can we build a single electronic element – the equivalent of a transistor or switch – that performs most of the known functions of neurons in a brain? If so, can we use it as a building block to build useful computers?
[...] It took my colleague Suhas Kumar and others five years of careful exploration to get exactly the right material composition and structure to produce the necessary property predicted from theory.
Kumar then went a major step further and built a circuit with 20 of these elements connected to one another through a network of devices that can be programmed to have particular capacitances, or abilities to store electric charge. He then mapped a mathematical problem to the capacitances in the network, which allowed him to use the device to find the solution to a small version of a problem that is important in a wide range of modern analytics.
[...] The technological challenge now is to scale up our proof-of-principles demonstration to something that can compete against today's digital behemoths.
List of animals by number of neurons
Journal References:
Suhas Kumar, R. Stanley Williams, Ziwen Wang. Third-order nanocircuit elements for neuromorphic engineering, Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2735-5)
Matthew D. Pickett, Gilberto Medeiros-Ribeiro, R. Stanley Williams. A scalable neuristor built with Mott memristors, Nature Materials (DOI: 10.1038/nmat3510)
Christof J. Schwiening. A brief historical perspective: Hodgkin and Huxley, The Journal of Physiology (DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2012.230458)
Leon Chua. Memristor, Hodgkin–Huxley, and Edge of Chaos - IOPscience, Nanotechnology (DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/24/38/383001)
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Thursday October 15 2020, @03:18PM (1 child)
Over google's already on-the-market-for-3-generations tensor processing unit?
Having more mechanical parameters to fiddle with isn't helpful unless you can extract algorithmic value from those parameters.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday October 15 2020, @03:52PM
This would be useful for replacing/upgrading something like SpiNNaker [wikipedia.org] or other neuromorphic architectures. Assuming they can scale it up from a single memristor made in the lab to an actual chip with millions or billions of "neurons".
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday October 15 2020, @03:45PM (8 children)
https://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/devices/memristor-first-single-device-to-act-like-a-neuron [ieee.org]
It sounds promising, but it has to be scaled up in 2D and then 3D to make a nice artificial brain neuromorphic chip.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 5, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday October 15 2020, @04:14PM (7 children)
Two (2) neurons seems sufficient to simulate modern human brains in the 21st century.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 3, Touché) by RS3 on Thursday October 15 2020, @05:06PM (3 children)
... with a 2 neuron margin of error in your analysis I presume.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday October 15 2020, @05:28PM (1 child)
Redundancy are impotant in case of miss steaks.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday October 15 2020, @06:18PM
"Miss steaks". Makes me think of food. But also "Mr. Steaks", which would be a bull, and you know what they produce... :)
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday October 16 2020, @12:21AM
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 15 2020, @06:14PM
Especially right wing brains.
/s
(Score: 5, Funny) by inertnet on Thursday October 15 2020, @08:46PM (1 child)
Never employ people with an even number of neurons, because their decisions can take a very long time.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 15 2020, @11:45PM
But wouldn't someone with an odd number of neurons be ... odd?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Dr Spin on Thursday October 15 2020, @04:02PM (2 children)
You could just use a COTS FPGA, and reprogram it with micro-controller while it is sleeping.
I proposed this as a way of building Neural nets using Xilinx chips when they first came out in the 1980's
but was told "no one wants an artificial brain - like real brains, they won't be very reliable".
In the UK, in the 1980's no one wanted new products or ideas. The Ford Motor company (maybe it was GM, I forget)
actually said "we don't want new ideas - we are still selling the old ones".
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2) by legont on Thursday October 15 2020, @04:10PM
Neuron net simulation was my bachelor graduation project back in 1981.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 15 2020, @07:18PM
""no one wants an artificial brain - like real brains, they won't be very reliable"."
They want a self driving quantum neuronet AI.
I hope that's enough buzzwords stringed together for you to attract investors.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Thexalon on Thursday October 15 2020, @04:20PM (4 children)
A simple one will suffice. All it needs to do is say "What?" and "Where's the tea?"
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday October 15 2020, @05:32PM (3 children)
Brain must be complex enouf to decide
whetherweather to watch The Kardashians or Dancing With The Stars.The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 15 2020, @06:20PM (2 children)
Yep...circuses and bread for all. Until Sky Net grows tired of meatbags.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday October 15 2020, @06:27PM (1 child)
Maybe that's how the VGER planet got started.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 15 2020, @09:12PM
Night of the living systemd! Coming this Halloween on VHS !!!
We are doomed - we are all doomed!